China grabbing neighbour countries' territories including Bhutan, India: Report

China has been encroaching on the neighbouring territories including Bhutan since the 2017 standoff at Doklam, to gain strategic military advantage and fulfilling its regional expansionist agenda, ANI reported, citing a foreign policy report. Chinese president Xi Jinping has been vocal about expanding the territory on the new frontiers in South Asia, on occasions, admitting that Chinese military occupation will be along the borders as well as outside of it. China’s focus, as per the report cited by ANI, has been to overtake the Tibetan borderlands and the border areas to marginalize India in the South-Asian region. 

Several satellite images have depicted the Chinese People’s Liberation Army encroaching the lands along the neighbouring countries’ border and starting the illegal construction activities for giving a combat upper hand to its troops. In many such satellite imageries, one can see the construction of new villages along the border with India, which the think tanks believe is China’s attempt to strengthen its territorial claims, particularly around Arunachal Pradesh. “It reflects China's similar tactics employed in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tibet, said a geopolitical intelligence platform,” the report cited by ANI read. 

Beijing has 'boundary dispute's with majorly all its neighbours

Policy Research Group, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) meanwhile reports that Beijing shares the largest international border with India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and Myanmar and has had boundary disputes with majorly all its neighbours. With India, China has had persistent land boundary assertion conflicts which, despite numerous talks, have not been settled yet. China displays similar belligerence with Bhutan, as well as on the smaller island nations in the South China sea.

“Many independent foreign policy reports highlight that in TAR, new villages are routinely being built by China. Communist Party Secretary of the TAR, Wu Yingjie has visited a new village, called Gyalaphug which is under Bhutan across the international border,” ANI reports. It further elaborates that one such village is approximately 232-square mile area asserted by China, which may have been constructed in the early1980s. It is internationally recognized as a portion of the Lhuntse district in northern Bhutan. 

Beijing, since 1990, has made offers to give away the 495 square kilometres of captured land if Bhutan yields 269 square kilometres of its territory in the parts of Doklam, Charithang, Sinchulungpa, Dramana, and Shakhatoe, Sakteng, as per the report. Despite making lucrative offers of massive economic aid as a part of its debt trap strategy, Bhutan rejected the offers. India meanwhile recognizes Bhutan’s claim over Doklam that lies between China's Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan's Ha Valley to the east and India's Sikkim state's Nathang Valley to the west. 

India responds aggressively to Chinese belligerence

India, unlike its other Asian neighbours, has responded aggressively to Chinese belligerence, one such example of it being the Galwan clash in June. China has ramped up the upgradation and the establishment of the Chinese military facilities, that involve the heliports and missile bases along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the aftermath of the 2017 standoff at Doklam. Several such bases for the Chinese troop are also constructed in the areas opposite Ladakh and the military infrastructure only raises suspicion about China’s intentions. Meanwhile has also maintained a high level of troop preparedness to thwart any attempts of misadventure by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. 

With ANI Inputs

Image: AP/PTI