Why China’s Land Grab in Bhutan Threatens India | WSJ

These satellite images show Chinese settlements in the territory of Bhutan, a small kingdom in the Himalayas. The villages springing up in the north of the country represent a security challenge for India. Some regional experts say they could be part of Beijing's pressure tactics to force Bhutan to give up its Strategic Area in the west of the country that would expose a major geographical vulnerability for India. A key

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corridor known as the chicken neck. Bhutan overlooks this small

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bridge about 20 km wide that connects the main part of India with the northeastern territories of India. In recent years, China has built roads and buildings for military installations in northern Bhutan.

Here's why China is quietly expanding into its neighbor's territory. Bhutan is only half the size of South Carolina, but is strategically important to its two powerful neighbors. It is historically an ally of India and has a long-standing border dispute with China that claims at least three major areas of Bhutan and the claim over this area in the west known as the duck land plateau puts India on edge in 2017. New Delhi and Beijing almost went to war when Beijing tried to extend a highway in this remote territory bordering China's Tibet. It is a high point that would give China the ability to monitor India's movement through the Siliguri corridor.

The chicken neck. Robert Barnett is an expert on China-Tibet border issues. He and his colleagues were the first to identify the first Chinese construction in northern Bhutan in 2016. Bonnet says the area could be a bargaining chip to obtain the dock plateau. China says we will give up our claim to these areas in the north if they give us what we want. West, this is how China creates pressure in negotiations. Beijing's expansion into northern Bhutan began three decades ago with a single hut for four Tibetan shepherds, according to Chinese officials. China's claim about this area was that these Tibetan herdsmen lived in it and Now we see that new villages have sprung up here.

This is an extremely difficult territory to live in, especially in the rainy season, which is why this area has never been populated before, except by hermits, monks and llamas. China has built a network of roads connecting at least four quickly. Expanding towns, as well as buildings that look like military installations. Here there is a zigzag path that reaches the top of a hill and on the top of that mountain is a building. We don't know what it's for, but presumably it's some kind of military eavesdropping. device in recent years China has been encouraging more citizens to move to new villages last December, Chinese authorities showed photographs of residents of newly built houses holding portraits of the country's leader.

What is very extraordinary about this is that these buildings are getting bigger and faster and more and more buildings are coming up, it is possible that China has decided that it has a military advantage in holding this area; In other words, it is not only a pressure tactic to force Bhutan to give up dolam, but it is also an opportunity for China to establish Military Listening Posts south of MERS, which will give it an advantage over India by the end of March. . India's prime minister visited Bhutan to strengthen ties with the kingdom as Beijing seeks to increase its influence there.

Bhutan does not have formal diplomatic relations with China, but recently The two neighbors have been intensifying their dialogue in October 2023. Bhutan's Foreign Minister visited Beijing. As a result, the two sides expressed their mutual desire to complete the border tours as soon as possible. Some Chinese experts in the region previously said that New Delhi had hindered the advance of Bhutan and China. efforts to resolve their border disputes India is extremely concerned about the dolam plateau. Bhutan and India have a 2007 treaty that says Bhutan has to respect India's security needs, so Bhutan cannot easily give up dolam if India objects and India has objected.

Beijing said the purpose of its infrastructure construction on what it called the Chinese side of the China-Bhutan border area is to improve people's living standards and has nothing to do with China-Bhutan border negotiations. India's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on whether New Delhi views China's expansion in northern Bhutan as a threat. Bhutan's embassy in New Delhi said it does not comment on ongoing border talks between Bhan and China. The offer added that the government of Bhutan will always defend and safeguard the territorial interests of the country during the boundary negotiations. Some people think that the Bunes have already given up those rights over those areas, but we have to wait and see Bran just had elections. , so there is a new prime minister, he is much closer to India than the previous government, so there may be a slight change in tactics, but overall it seems that China has realized that there is no way that Bhutan can give it dolam, so it seems that China hopes to keep that territory in the north and it seems that Bhutan will have to give that up.

They claim that it has probably been in that area for many centuries.