March 29, 2023
India alarmed at Bhutan’s stance on border dispute with China
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
The China-India dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) took a new twist Tuesday when Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said it was open to a three-way resolution involving the three countries to end the stand-off at the strategically vital Doklam plateau.
In an interview with the Belgian Daily ‘La Libre’, while on a state visit to Germany, Tshering said, “Doklam is a tri-junction between India, China and Bhutan. It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem. We are three equal countries. There is no big or small country.”
He said Bhutan was ready to discuss the issue as soon as the two other parties agreed. “India and China have problems all along their border. We are waiting to see how they resolve their differences,” he said.
While there was no official reaction to Tshering comments, India media pointed out that his statement contradicts Bhutan’s stance elucidated in 2019 when Tshering said the “existing tri-junction point should not be disturbed unilaterally”.
About the Bhutan-China talks (on since 1984) on demarcating the border, the PM said, “We do not encounter major border problems with China, but certain territories are not yet demarcated. We still have to discuss it and draw a line. We have come to understand each other. Last month, a Bhutanese delegation visited China and we are now awaiting the arrival of a Chinese technical team in Bhutan.” After a meeting or two, he said, the two sides would probably be able to draw a line.
According to the Tribune India, for India, it remains to be seen if Bhutan cedes Doklam and retains the areas to its north. This would mean China getting ensconced on the Doklam plateau, which will allow it a clear view of the sensitive Siliguri corridor, the narrow tract of land connecting mainland India with the north-eastern states.
For India, it means China going back on a commitment made in 2012 to maintain status quo at border tri-junctions such as Doklam.
“As per international maps, the tri-junction of Doklam at Batang La was never demarcated. The 1890 Sikkim-Tibet boundary treaty says Mount Gipmochi (14,300 feet high) shall be the point where Tibet and Sikkim territories converge. In 1904, the British captured Tibet and in a 1906 treaty, they handed over the Chumbi valley to Tibet. The Chumbi valley ends in the north of Doklam plateau at Batang La,” according to Tribune.
China building villages inside Bhutan
In the same interview, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering also addressed the reports of China building villages inside Bhutan’s borders. He said that these purported settlements do not fall in Bhutanese territory. “A lot of information is circulating in the media about Chinese facilities in Bhutan. We are not making a (big) deal about them because they are not in Bhutan. We have said it categorically, there is no intrusion as mentioned in the media. This is an international border and we know exactly what belongs to us.”
On the same issue, he added, “We are not experiencing major border problems with China, but some territories have not yet been demarcated. After one or two more meetings, we will probably be able to draw a dividing line.”
While Tshering refuted claims of any Chinese presence in the country, experts claim that the recent satellite data suggests otherwise. Robert Barnett — a scholar of Tibetan history and affiliate at the Lau China Institute, Kings College London — had also studied international maps of the area and come to the conclusion that Beijing had built villages inside Bhutan. On Twitter, Barnett explained that three of the villages are in the mid-sector of Bhutan’s northern border, two are in the northeastern region of Lhuentse, while the remaining five are in the western border areas.
Dokhlam Dispute
Tellingly, the Doklam plateau has been a point of contention between India and China and was also the site where the troops of both nations were involved in a tense standoff lasting more than two months in 2017. Indian soldiers had entered the Doklam plateau to prevent China extending a road that it was illegally constructing in the direction of Mount Gipmochi and an adjoining hill feature called the Jhampheri ridge.
For years, the tri-junction point between the three nations has been at a spot called Batang La. China’s Chumbi Valley lies to the north of Batang La, Bhutan lies to the south and east and India (Sikkim), to the west. However, Beijing claims that the tri-junction is Gyemochen.
This is because the Batang La tri-junction offers China with very little depth to deploy its forces. As defence expert Nitin A Gokhale wrote in a Rediff.com report — the border, as it stands today, gives India a tactical advantage since its forces based in north and north-east Sikkim can easily cut off the Chinese deployment in the narrow Chumbi Valley.
Owing to this situation, China has been vying to control the Doklam plateau; any troops stationed there will be away from the eyes or range of the Indian forces and additionally, Beijing would be able to roll down Zimplri ridge and undermine Indian defences in the Siliguri Corridor that connects the rest of India to the seven north-eastern states.
Lt Gen Bhatt (Retd) who served as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) in 2017 when the Indian army carried out extensive operations in the Doklam crisis along the Bhutan border and the Line of Actual Control was quoted as saying: “China wants to test India’s resolve and test what we will allow them to do and keep the LAC active.”
“It is becoming more powerful both economically and it is growing up and it wants to exert on its periphery,” Gen Bhatt added.
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
