China and Bhutan agree to push forward border talks

Subject : International Relations

Section: India and neighbours

Context :

The 11th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the China-Bhutan Boundary Issues was held in China’s Kunming city.
After the meeting, both sides announced that a positive consensus has been reached to push forward the implementation of all steps of the Three Step-Roadmap.

Boundary Negotiation between Bhutan and China

Although, Bhutan does not have a formal diplomatic relation with China, the country began its first border negotiations with China in 1984.
To date, both countries have held 11 expert group meetings and 24 rounds of border negotiations.
In October 2021, Bhutan and China signed an MoU on the Three-Step Roadmap for Expediting the China-Bhutan Boundary Negotiations.
The three-step roadmap has still not been made public.

China – Bhutan Border Dispute

China claims certain territories from Bhutan:
In the north – Pasamlung and Jakarlung valleys;
Both of these places are culturally vital for Bhutan.
In the west – Doklam, Dramana, and Shakhatoe, Yak Chu and Charithang Chu, and Sinchulungpa and Langmarpo valleys.
These places are pasture-rich and strategically located in the Bhutan-India-China trijunction, lying close to India’s Siliguri Corridor.
In 2020, China made new claims on Bhutan’s East in the Sakteng sanctuary.
Surprisingly, there has been no mention of Eastern Bhutan in the previous rounds of boundary negotiations held between the two countries.
Hence, addition of Eastern Bhutan in the list of disputed territories has baffled Bhutan.
This eastern sector of Bhutan has a large Bhutanese population, traditional Dzongs (fortified monastery) and two Bhutanese districts since time immemorial.