China is settling a village on the Bhutan border, why is India's tension increasing?

In the last 8 years, China has built at least 22 villages and settlements in the area considered to be part of Bhutan. Hindustan Times on Wednesday reported, citing satellite images, that 8 of these villages have been built near the strategically important Doklam plateau since 2020.

According to the report, these 8 villages are located either inside the valley claimed by China or on the hills above, near the strategically important area of ​​Doklam in the western sector of Bhutan. Many of these villages are located very close to Chinese military posts or bases.

Encroachment on Bhutan border, why tension for India?

China's construction near Doklam raises security concerns for India as the area is close to the Siliguri Corridor, also known as the 'Chicken Neck'. The Chicken Neck is a narrow stretch of land that connects India's northeastern states with the rest of the country. The corridor is of strategic importance to India as China is expanding its encroachment near the Bhutanese border to gain influence over this narrow stretch of land. Its weakness is China's strength in India's eastern region. Security of the corridor became a major concern for India after the 2017 incidents around Doklam.

In 2017, military tension between India and China over Doklam continued for about 73 days. During that time, India had stopped China from building a road in this area, through this road China could get access to the southern region of the plateau. After a long tension, the armies of both the countries agreed to retreat from the disputed place, but in recent years China has accelerated construction work in the Bhutan area around Doklam. Although Bhutan has denied the presence of China in its border area, but this encroachment of China near Doklam can increase India's tension.

How much part of Bhutan is encroached upon by China?

According to the report, out of these 22 villages, the largest village identified by observers and researchers is Jiwu, which is built on traditional Bhutanese pastoral land known as Shethangkha. This area is also part of Bhutan's Western Sector.

Since 2016, China has started settling villages on land traditionally considered part of Bhutan. So far, it has settled 22 villages and settlements here. In which 2284 residential houses have been built, where about 7 thousand people have been relocated to this uninhabited area of ​​Bhutan. This information has been given by Hindustan Times citing a recent study done by Robert Barnett, a research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

A report titled 'Coercive Diplomacy: China's Cross Border Villages in Bhutan' states that China has occupied about 825 square kilometers of land which was earlier under Bhutan's border. That is, China has occupied about 2 percent of Bhutan's area so far. Apart from this, China has sent an unclear number of officials, construction workers, border police and military personnel to these settlements in this area, which are connected to Chinese cities and towns through roads.