New Delhi: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has increased construction along the disputed border with Bhutan. The Beijing government’s construction could be a new challenge for India in the future – as it develops sites and buildings.
The satellite images show that China has accelerated settlement-building along its disputed border with Bhutan, with more than 200 structures, including two-storey buildings, under construction in six locations.
According to the media report – the US data analytics firm HawkEye 360 supplied images and analytics to very well-known media. HawkEye 360 uses satellites to gather intelligence on ground-level activities, and vetted by two other experts, provide a detailed look into China’s recent construction along its frontier with Bhutan.
Satellite images covered that Construction-related activity in some of the locations along Bhutan’s western border has been underway since early 2020, with China initially building tracks and clearing out areas.
Biggers – Director at HawkEye 360 said, “Images show the work speeded up in 2021. Smaller structures were erected possibly to house equipment and supplies followed by the laying of foundations and then the construction of buildings.”
However, The 1949 Friendship Treaty has guided the contemporary Indo-Bhutan relationship, ensuring India’s non-interference in Bhutan’s internal affairs, while Article 2 of the treaty critically gave India a role in guiding Bhutan’s foreign policy.
It stood by India in the face of its conflict with China in 1962. When India broke Pakistan into two pieces in 1971, Bhutan and Mongolia were the first to back India’s push for Bangladeshi independence. Bhutan never played the China card, and never ruffled India’s feathers in the region – never refused India’s exploitation of its hydropower assets, unlike Nepal.
(_Vinayak)