As soon as the curtain was raised on neighboring Bhutan, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a British think tank, released a satellite image taken about three months ago, claiming that China is stepping up the construction of villages, roads and other infrastructure in the direction of the Sino-Bhutan border.
In a vain attempt to portray China's reasonable infrastructure activities as "recovering territory" ahead of schedule through de facto control, in order to "force" Bhutan to make concessions in future border negotiations.
Western think tanks have released a satellite image of the China-Bhutan border area
According to the information revealed by the Western think tank, the infrastructure shown by satellite imagery is not in the direction of Doklam, which the international community has been more concerned about, but in the northern Jakarlung valley, which is known as the Baiyu region in China. However, based on satellite imagery and other information, we are now unable to confirm where these infrastructures are located in the Baiyu area.
This kind of rhetoric, which only gives the general direction and does not give the specific location, actually reflects the sinister intention of the West to release this satellite map.
First of all, we want to make it clear that on the issue of border demarcation in the Baiyu region, China and Bhuya do have some detailed issues that have not been fully negotiated. But most of the problems have already been resolved, and China has long been tightening its grip on the border region in this direction, including by building border villages and allowing herders to graze on the border.
The Chinese added the village of Jerob in the Baiyu area].
Previously, the addition of the village of Jerob in this area by the Autonomous Region is a clear example. In recent years, Bhutanese has not expressed any opposition to the construction of these border villages in China.
The exact location of these infrastructures on satellite maps is most likely in areas that China and Bhuta have already agreed upon, and it is reasonable, legal and understandable that China is now building villages or border posts here. It is precisely for this reason that the West has deliberately blurred the treatment and only given a general position.
Second, in the relevant report, the West mentioned that Bhutan may "make concessions" on the issue of the demarcation of part of the northern border, and then specifically mentioned that once China and Bhutan complete the demarcation of the northern border, the two sides will focus on the issue of the western section of the border involving Doklam and promote the completion of the border demarcation.
Among the China-Bhuta border issues, the real difficulty in dealing with is the border in the direction of Yadong, which involves Doklam
As the Doklam border issue has always been the focus of New Delhi's attention, the West's move is also intended to arouse India's attention to this matter to a certain extent, so as to further create tension in the direction of the Sino-Indian border.
Finally, and most crucially, the West is now releasing a photo taken in September and carrying out a series of propaganda, the most fundamental purpose of which is to interfere with the progress of China-Bhutan border negotiations and prevent China from promoting the resolution of the border demarcation issue.
As we all know, Bhutan and India are the last two land neighbors that have not yet signed an agreement with China to formally complete the demarcation of their borders.
Negotiations between China and Bhutan have been going on for decades, and the delay in reaching an agreement is largely due to the obstruction of New Delhi, which has controlled Bhutan for many years. However, even so, in the past two years, China and Bhutan have made considerable breakthroughs on the issue of border demarcation.
In August this year, the two countries announced the establishment of a joint technical group for border demarcation. In October, then Bhutanese Foreign Minister Dandi Dorjee visited China and consulted with the Chinese side on the completion of border negotiations and the establishment of diplomatic relations as soon as possible.
In October, then Bhutanese Foreign Minister Dorjee visited China
Lotta Tsering, Bhutan's prime minister at the time, also said that she hoped to lead Bhutan to sign a formal agreement with China to resolve the border issue during the final month of his term.
However, due to various reasons, the two countries were unable to sign an agreement before Tsering** handed over power to the caretaker** and the Bhutanese elections began. This has undoubtedly made the West and India see an opportunity to interfere with the border negotiations between China and Bhutan.
The timing of the report by the British think tank was very clever, as it happened to be the day after the primary election in Bhutan.
The report was released by a British think tank just after Bhutan's primaries
It is possible that the original idea of the British was to use this hype to stir up discontent among the Bhutanese people against China, so as to prompt the parties participating in the election to speak out on the issue. And judging from the timing of the release of the report, the West may want to interfere with the re-election of Tsering** after the primary election.
The results of the primary election were somewhat surprising, with neither the current ruling party nor the largest opposition winning the primary election, and the final showdown will be between the old conservative parties led by former Bhutanese Prime Minister Tserin Toje, the People's Democratic Party of Bhutan and the rising star BTP of Bhutan**.
Given India's special relationship with Bhutan, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), an established party, is likely to be more vulnerable to New Delhi's influence.
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) led by Celin Toje may be more vulnerable to New Delhi's influence
However, this does not mean that when the People's Democratic Party comes to power, it will immediately liquidate the foreign policy of Tsering**. According to public information, the differences in the governance platforms of all the political parties participating in Bhutan** this time are concentrated in Bhutan's domestic issues. Diplomatically, these parties have shown a desire to develop relations with China.
In addition, with the experience of the annexation of Sikkim, the Bhutanese royal family and political circles have actually formed a consensus on trying to get rid of India's control and further achieve independence in the diplomatic field. Bhutanese politicians should also be able to make accurate judgments about China's actions in the direction of Baiyu, so as not to be truly misled by Western think tanks.
It remains to be seen how China-Binna relations will develop in the future, but the likelihood of fundamental changes is relatively low, and it is more likely that we will continue along the existing route until the final demarcation of the border and the establishment of diplomatic relations will be completed. The only difference should be the question of the "size of the steps" on the Bhutanese side in the future.