Although The Times correspondent in Calcutta claimed that this was the most important step towards the opening of Thibet (sic) which has been taken since the days of Warren Hastings[A] it alarmed the Tibetans. They saw Macaulay's foray as the first move in a British invasion of their country and were provoked into their 1886 reclamation of the Jelep La from Sikkim to reinforce their over-lordship of the state. The British despatched the Sikkim Expedition in 1888 to repel Tibetan forces, who had advanced as far as Lingtu. After a series of clashes between the two sides, the signing of the 1890 Convention of Calcutta with China restored peace to the region.