China is always in a ‘land-grabbing mode’ and has established a village 2 km within Bhutan’s territory.
A report by NDTV on Friday claimed that China has established a village “very close to Doklam” where the Chinese and Indian militaries had a tense standoff in 2017.
Referring to images posted on Twitter by a senior journalist with the Chinese state media, the NDTV reported about the establishment of Chinese village 2 kms inside Bhutan territory.
1.This is an astounding tweet with clear evidence of a CHINESE LANDGRAB WITHIN BHUTANESE TERRITORY, app. 9km from the India-China faceoff site in Doklam. The map shown here by @shen_shiwei, a senior journalist with Chinese state media, indicates this village is 2 km inside Bhutan https://t.co/UdNtS309yM
— Vishnu Som (@VishnuNDTV) November 19, 2020
The report claimed that Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei, who worked with CGTN News had posted the images on Thursday morning on Twitter, and had indicated the precise location of the settlement.
But the Chinese journalist later deleted the tweets, the NDTV report claimed, adding that the new Chinese village has come up about 9 kms away from Doklam.
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If the report of the new Chinese village inside Bhutan territory is found true, it would mean additional headache for the Indian Army.
In fact, India is responsible for the territorial integrity of Bhutan which maintains a limited armed force.
3. For reference – the big red box is where the Doklam face off between India and China took place a few years ago. And the small box is where the village is located per @shen_shiwei pic.twitter.com/CzNqZlz4Lq
— Vishnu Som (@VishnuNDTV) November 19, 2020
Neither the Bhutanese Foreign Ministry nor the Prime Minister’s Office issued any statement on the reports of setting up of Chinese village inside its territory.
The Doklam standoff in 2017 was the most serious face-off in decades between India and China.
The confrontation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh had left 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unspecified number of Chinese casualties.
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While India and China have readied a three-phase plan for disengagement along the LAC, the new village 2 kms inside Bhutan territory, if found true, is definitely going to heat up the frontier.