Despite Ongoing Talks, China Carves Into North Bhutan With Outposts, Villages
NDTV
Satellite images of this region, the sharpest to be released so far, suggest that Thimphu may have no option but to accept the fait accompli presented by the Chinese in this area.
Ongoing border talks between Bhutan and China to formally demarcate their boundary have not prevented Beijing from continuing unsanctioned construction activity in North Bhutan's Jakarlung Valley.
Satellite images of this region, the sharpest to be released so far, suggest that Thimphu may have no option but to accept the fait accompli presented by the Chinese in this area which lies 50 kilometres from Bhutan's Eastern border with Arunachal Pradesh.
"This is a case of China making a claim to an area, based on earlier grazing practices by herders, that is very recent and without precedent - and then unilaterally seizing the territory and settling it with villages, military barracks and outposts,'' according to Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibetan history at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.
''Jakarlung adjoins the Beyul Khenpajong, which is an important cultural and religious area for the Bhutanese. So this case represents China making a very recent, doubtful claim about an area that is of great cultural significance to a far less powerful neighbour, knowing that neighbour has few if any options as to its response.''
