Bhutan eyes negotiating end to its boundary disputes with China; Delhi embassies the venue

Amid its own border row with China over the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary, Bhutan on Tuesday said that the boundary between both the countries is "under negotiation" and has not been demarcated. In a statement, Royal Bhutanese Embassy in India said the 25th round of ministerial-level boundary talks was delayed due to Coronavirus. It added that all disputed areas will be discussed in the next round.

'Boundary has not been demarcated'

"Boundary between Bhutan-China is under negotiation and hasn't been demarcated. 24 rounds of ministerial-level boundary talks have been held and the 25th round was delayed due to COVID. All disputed areas to be discussed in next round, to be held as soon as mutually convenient," the statement said.

The development comes days after Bhutan issued a demarche to China upset by its claims over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary located in eastern Bhutan. The Royal Embassy of Bhutan lodged a formal protest with the Chinese embassy in New Delhi saying the sanctuary was "an integral and sovereign territory of Bhutan".

Both Bhutan and China don't have embassies in each other's countries and carry out their diplomatic communication through their missions in New Delhi. 

China makes new border claims

The fresh claims by China were recently made at the 58th Global Environment Facility Council where the Chinese member raised objections to the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary project and argued that it was in a "disputed area" between Beijing and Thimphu. Sakteng lies in a zone of Bhutan that borders Arunachal Pradesh and not China.

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Bhutan has urged the GEF to purge all references to China’s baseless claims from the council’s documents. The GEF has also rejected the Chinese claim and approved the project for funding. Set up in 1992, GEF is a US-based global body to finance projects in the environment sector.

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