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New satellite imagery has revealed Chinese expansion into territory previously controlled by Bhutan even as China continues to negotiate a border agreement with its neighbor to the south.
China’s strategy of encouraging settlement in disputed areas appears to supersede the ongoing boundary talks, suggesting an attempt to alter realities on the ground in its favor, researchers say.
It is a move that could have long-lasting implications for the small kingdom of less than 1 million people, sandwiched between China and India, with Bhutan‘s leaders finding it difficult to address China’s alleged encroachment on villages that are already sparsely populated by their own Bhutanese people.
Beijing’s land grab in the north of the Himalayan country was taking place in the form of an “unsanctioned program of settlement construction across the contested border with Bhutan,” open-source analysts John Pollock and Damien Symon wrote in The World Today, a magazine published by the Chatham House think tank in London.
Their December 1 included satellite imagery from September that showed new outposts in Bhutan’s remote Jakarlung Valley, part of the Beyul Khenpajong region.
A satellite image of Jakarlung Valley in Bhutan’s Beyul Khenpajong region shows newly constructed Chinese settlements taken on 13 September 2023. China is building new villages in an attempt to grab disputed territory from Bhutan.
Incumbent Prime Minister Lotay Tshering of Bhutan continued negotiations with China during his time in office. Tshering’s decision suggests the kingdom has little choice but to strike a deal with its powerful neighbor in order to stop the encroachment.
The Chinese government also is pushing Bhutan to establish direct diplomatic relations, adding to the complexity of the geopolitical situation.
Read the article:
https://www.newsweek.com/china-bhutan-border-territory-land-grab-himalayas-1849198
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