Word: pakistan
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...focus of India's attention last week shifted to its Himalayan border in the north. There, while the war with Pakistan continued in bloody obscurity, Red China sharpened a knife for India's back. In Peking, India's charge d'affaires was roused at one o'clock in the morning with a curt summons to the Foreign Ministry, where he was handed an ultimatum. In brutal terms, the note gave the Indian government three days "to dismantle all military structures along the Sikkim border," or else take the "grave consequences...
Closed Neck. Ever since fighting broke out over Kashmir, China has been verbally encouraging Pakistan and denouncing Indian "aggression." Now Peking switched to grave threats and, for India, it could not have come at a worse time or place. The Indian protectorate of Sikkim is a tiny mountain state ruled by King Palden Thondup Nameyal and his American Queen Hope. It has only 162,000 inhabitants, an area smaller than Yellowstone Park, and a preposterous army of 280 militiamen plus 60 palace guards...
Should China seize Sikkim, it would be in a position to close the narrow neck of land linking India proper to the state of Assam and the North East Frontier Agency, as well as open a route from China to East Pakistan. Well aware of the danger, India has kept two divisions of trained mountain troops based at Kalimpong for just such an eventuality...
...afford to stretch its economic and manpower resources to a two-front war, and Peking might feel that India, already embroiled in one war, may be in a mood for concessions on border questions. China's tough action also strengthens its position as a de facto ally of Pakistan and makes it more difficult for President Mohammed Ayub Khan to enter peace negotiations...
...public, hands-off-India warning to China, but U.S. officials pointed out that such warnings have been already delivered to Peking. It was all sort of odd, for, while the U.S. was a staunch friend of India, it also hoped to keep some kind of contact with Pakistan, whose President last week was urging the U.S. to use its "considerable influence" to seek a settlement. The U.S. could only repeat its intention of continuing to work through the United Nations. But Secretary-General U Thant had little progress to report...