Bhutan PM Lotay Tshering’s ‘China’s say in Doklam’ remarks raises concerns in India

Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering kicked up a major controversy over his latest remarks of China having an equal say over the matter of the disputed territory in Doklam.

"Doklam is a junction point between India, China and Bhutan. It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem," said Bhutan's PM Lotay Tshering in an interview with La Libre.

"We are three. There is no big or small country, there are three equal countries, each counting for a third," she he added.

This is in contrast with Tshering's 2019 statement where he said that ''no side'' should do anything near the existing trijunction point between the three countries ''unilaterally".

China in recent years stepped efforts to establish diplomatic contacts with Bhutan and to expedite negotiations to reach a settlement for the vexed border dispute which was exasperated by Beijing's attempts to claim Doklam despite Thimphu's assertions that the area belonged to it.

China's attempt to build a road in the Doklam plateau in 2017 resulted in a major India-China standoff, triggering tensions between the two neighbours.

India had strongly opposed the construction of the road by the Chinese military at the Doklam tri-junction as it would have impacted its overall security interests since it runs close to the narrow Siliguri Corridor also known as the Chicken Neck connecting India with its north-east. The standoff ended after Beijing dropped its plan to build the road.

Also in 2020, China made a surprising claim on Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council by opposing funding for the project.

Bhutan had lodged a demarche to the Chinese Embassy in India over China's claim over the sanctuary made at the GEF meeting.

China has also ramped up efforts to develop the villages located along borders with India and Bhutan and Nepal with infrastructure development and preferential policies.

with PTI inputs