Bhutan issues demarche to China over its bid to create border dispute

In a major development, Bhutan alleged that China attempted to declare a Bhutanese wildlife sanctuary along their border as a disputed territory and issued a demarche. According to sources, the demarche was a follow-up to protests earlier against Beijing’s attempt to make a non-dispute into a quarrel.

This comes at the backdrop of 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 China and Bhutan. Sakteng lies in a zone of Bhutan that borders Arunachal Pradesh and China.

It was also reported that at the meeting, Bhutan had vehemently opposed to the references made by China against its sovereignty.

READ: EAM Jaishankar calls India-Bhutan relationship 'unique', assures help in fighting COVID

Furthermore, the Bhutan government later issued a formal letter to the GEF, strongly opposing references that questioned the country’s sovereignty. However, it was made clear by Thimphu that Sakteng is Bhutan’s sovereign territory, adding that there is no dispute. Bhutan has urged the GEF to purge all references to China’s baseless claims from the council’s documents.

READ: Agreement for Indo-Bhutan joint venture hydroelectric project signed