China, Bhutan build momentum in talks to settle border dispute

China and Bhutan have agreed to build on the "positive momentum" in efforts to resolve their border dispute, news agency Press Trust of India reported. The agreement came during the 16th round of their Expert Group Meeting on the boundary issue in Thimphu.

The three-day talks concluded on Thursday. They were co-chaired by Hou Yanqi, head of the Chinese delegation and director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, and Letho T Tangbi, Bhutan's secretary of international boundaries.

"The two sides reviewed the positive progress made in the China-Bhutan boundary negotiations in recent years and had friendly, candid and constructive discussions to take forward the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Three-Step Roadmap for Expediting the China-Bhutan Boundary Negotiations," the countries said in a joint statement.

"The two sides agreed to work together to build on the positive momentum," the statement said.

China and Bhutan also held the fourth meeting of the Joint Technical Team on Delimitation and Demarcation of the China-Bhutan Boundary on the sidelines of the expert group meeting. The team deals with the mapping and marking of the border.

"The two sides reached positive understandings on the roadmap for the next phase," the statement said.

At the previous meeting of the joint technical team in Beijing in April, the two sides discussed the alignment of the boundary in areas where there are no disputes. Both sides regarded the discussions as progress.

The latest talks were held in a warm and friendly atmosphere in keeping with the friendship and cooperation between China and Bhutan, the statement said. The two sides agreed to hold the next expert group meeting on a mutually convenient date.

China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but remain in contact through periodic visits by officials. Beijing has resolved boundary disputes with 12 neighbouring countries. India and Bhutan are the only two countries with which China is yet to settle its border disputes, PTI reported.

China and Bhutan agreed in 2023 to speed up negotiations under a three-step roadmap. Bhutan shares a border of about 477 km with China, and the two countries have held 25 rounds of talks to resolve the dispute.

India and China have held 24 rounds of Special Representatives' talks to resolve their border dispute along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control.

In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to establish full diplomatic relations with Bhutan and speed up negotiations on their border dispute. The dispute was complicated by Beijing's claim over the Doklam area, which Bhutan says belongs to it.

China's attempt to build a road on the Doklam plateau in 2017 led to an India-China standoff and heightened tensions between the two countries. India strongly opposed the road's construction by the Chinese military because it ran close to the narrow Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken Neck, which connects the rest of India with the north-east. The standoff ended after Beijing dropped its plan to build the road.

In 2020, China also claimed the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at a meeting of the Global Environment Facility Council by opposing funding for the project. Bhutan lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the Chinese Embassy in India over the claim.

The latest expert group meeting ended with China and Bhutan agreeing to continue work under their three-step roadmap and carry forward negotiations aimed at settling their long-standing border dispute.

With PTI Inputs

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