Indian Army soldiers are deployed at a snow-covered height of 11,516 feet in Zojila, Ladakh.
China has colonized 22 villages near the border with Bhutan in the last 8 years. Hindustan Times revealed this in a report using satellite photos. According to this, there are 8 villages near Doklam border in the western part of Bhutan. They were settled after the year 2020.
These villages are located in a valley that China has always claimed as its own. There are Chinese military posts near these villages. The largest village among the 22 colonized villages is Jeevu. It is located on Tsethankha, a traditional Bhutanese pasture. The Indian government has not yet made any statement on this matter.
Bhutan denies China’s activity
According to experts, due to China’s increased activity in these regions, the security of the Siliguri corridor connecting India with the North-Eastern states could be threatened. The Siliguri corridor has an India-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction. This 60 km long and 22 km wide corridor connects 7 North-Eastern states to India.
Researcher Robert Barnett said that in 2016, China built a village in part of Bhutan for the first time. Since then, in the last 8 years, 22 villages have been created with 2,284 houses. Around 7,000 people live in these houses.
In the report citing the book Forceful Diplomacy: China’s Cross Border Villages in Bhutan, it was said that China occupied around 825 square kilometers of area (which was previously part of Bhutan). This represents more than 2% of the total area of Bhutan.
China has also sent many civil servants, workers, border police and soldiers to these villages. All these villages are connected to cities in China by road. However, Bhutanese officials clearly deny Chinese settlement construction in their region.
Doklam border dispute has been going on since 2017
Bhutan shares a 600 km border with China. There is maximum controversy regarding two areas. Firstly, the area of Doklam with an area of 269 square km and secondly, the area of Jakarlung and Passamlung valleys of 495 square km in northern Bhutan.
The most serious case is that of Doklam, where the borders of the three countries of China, India and Bhutan share.
The standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies over the Doklam conflict near Ladakh in 2017 lasted 73 days. Meanwhile, India had opposed China’s road construction. After which the armies of the two countries withdrew. In recent years, China has once again tried to increase its activities near Doklam.
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