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== Sino-Bhutanese border dispute at Doklam == |
== Sino-Bhutanese border dispute at Doklam == |
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From 1958, Chinese maps started showing large parts of Bhutanese territory as part of China..<ref name=Bharadwaj/> In 1960, China issued a statement claiming that Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh were part of a unified family in Tibet and had always been subject to the "great motherland of China". Alarmed, Bhutan closed off its border with China and shut all trade and diplomatic contacts.<ref name=Benedictus/> It also established formal defense arrangements with India.<ref name=Bharadwaj/> |
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{{See also|Convention of Calcutta}} |
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⚫ | In 1966, the Tibetan grazers entered the pastures near the Doklam plateau accompanied by the soldiers of the [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA).<ref name=Benedictus>{{citation |last=Benedictus |first=Brian |title=Bhutan and the Great Power Tussle |newspaper=The Diplomat |date=2 August 2014 |url=http://thediplomat.com/2014/08/bhutan-and-the-great-power-tussle/}}</ref><ref name=Bharadwaj>Sandeep Bharadwaj, [http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/GXIc4NLACn5jxHv6RkkX7I/Doklam-may-bring-Bhutan-closer-to-India.html Doklam may bring Bhutan closer to India], ''livemint'', 9 August 2017.</ref> The Goverment of Bhutan issued a statement in protest stating, "This area is traditionally part of Bhutan and no assertion has been made by the Government of the People's Republic of China disputing the traditional frontier which runs along recognizable natural features."{{efn|Press Statement of 3rd October, 1966, issued on behalf of the Bhutan Government by its Trade Adviser in Calcutta: "His Majesty's Government of Bhutan had for some time, been concerned with reports received from its patrols of a number of intrusions by Tibetan graziers and Chinese troops in the Doklam pastures which are adjacent to the southern part of the Chumbi Valley. This area is traditionally part of Bhutan and no assertion has been made by the Government of the People's Republic of China disputing the traditional frontier which runs along recognizable natural features. In the area of the intrusion, the boundary runs along the water-parting along Batang La to Sinchel La. Local attempts were made to inform the graziers and the Chinese troops that they had strayed into Bhutanese territory but these have not been heeded."<ref>{{citation |last=Jain |first=Rajendra Kumar |title=China South Asian Relations, 1947-1980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mcK3AAAAIAAJ |year=1981 |publisher=Radiant |isbn=978-0-391-02251-5|p=351}}</ref><ref>{{citation |author=India. Ministry of External Affairs |title=Notes, Memoranda and Letters Exchanged and Agreements Signed Between the Governments of India and China: Feb. 1966-Feb.1967 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=myZuAAAAMAAJ |year=1969 |p=63}}</ref>}} |
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⚫ | Chinese government maintains that from historical evidence, Donglang (Doklam) has always been the traditional pasture for the border inhabitants living in Yadong, a county in its autonomous region Tibetan, and China has exercised good administration over the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1474637.shtml|title=Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2017|website=www.fmprc.gov.cn|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/sikkim-standoff-china-rejects-bhutans-claim-says-doklam-has-historically-been-their-territory-3762433.html|title=Sikkim standoff: China rejects Bhutan's claim, says Doklam has historically been their territory|date=2017-06-30|work=Firstpost|access-date=2017-08-16|language=en-US}}</ref> It also says that before the 1960s, if border inhabitants of Bhutan wanted to herd in Doklam, they needed the consent of the Chinese side and had to pay the grass tax to China.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1474637.shtml|title=Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2017|website=www.fmprc.gov.cn|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref> |
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⚫ | China later formally extended claims to 300 sq. miles of territory in northeastern Bhutan and areas north of [[Punakha]], but apparently not in Doklam. Bhutan requested the Indian government to raise the matter with China. However, China rejected India's initiatives stating that the issue concerned China and Bhutan alone.<ref>{{citation |last=Jha |first=Tilak |title=China and its Peripheries: Limited Objectives in Bhutan |publisher=Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Issue Brief #233 |location=New Delhi |year=2013 |url=http://www.ipcs.org/issue-brief/china/china-and-its-peripheries-limited-objectives-in-bhutan-233.html |ref={{sfnref|Tilak Jha, China and its Peripheries|2017}}}}</ref> The Chinese troops withdrew after a month. The fracas over Doklam brought Bhutan even closer to India, resulting in the appointment of 3,400 Indian defence personnel in Bhutan for training the Bhutanese Army.<ref name=Bharadwaj/> |
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⚫ | Border negotiations between Bhutan and China began in 1972 with India playing a supporting role. However, China sought the exclusion of India.<ref name=Benedictus/> Bhutan commenced its own border negotiations with China in 1984 and, according to several published reports, reduced 1,128 sq. km of disputed border areas to 269 sq. km by 1999.<ref name=Europa>{{citation |author=Taylor & Francis Group |title=Europa World Year |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGA4o-UhAfgC&pg=PA794 |year=2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-85743-254-1 |pages=794}}</ref> However, the apparent progress of the negotiations may be deceptive. Scholars note a reduction of 8,606 sq. km area in the official Bhutanese maps. The [[Kula Kangri]] mountain, touted as the tallest peak in Bhutan, has apparently been ceded to China.{{sfn|Kumar, Acharya & Jacob, Sino-Bhutanese Relations|2011|p=248}} Secondly, the Chinese offered a "package deal" to Bhutan in 1996, offering to give up claims on 495 sq. km in the central region in exchange for 269 sq. km in the northwest, the latter including Doklam, Sinchulumpa, Dramana and Shakhatoe, all adjoining the Chumbi Valley. Scholars note that these areas offer strategic depth to Chinese defences and access to the strategic [[Siliguri Corridor]] of India. Bhutan turned down the offer, allegedly under Indian persuasion.{{sfn|Kumar, Acharya & Jacob, Sino-Bhutanese Relations|2011|p=247}}<ref>{{citation |last=Singh |first=Mandip |title=Critical Assessment of China's Vulnerabilities in Tibet |url=http://www.idsa.in/system/files/OP_ChinaTibet.pdf |year=2013 |publisher=Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses |ISBN=978-93-82169-10-9}}</ref> |
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⚫ | China later formally extended claims to 300 sq. miles of territory in northeastern Bhutan and areas north of [[Punakha]], but apparently not in Doklam. Bhutan requested the Indian government to raise the matter with China. However, China rejected India's initiatives stating that the issue concerned China and Bhutan alone.<ref>{{citation |last=Jha |first=Tilak |title=China and its Peripheries: Limited Objectives in Bhutan |publisher=Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies |location=New Delhi |year= |
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⚫ | Border negotiations between Bhutan and China began in 1972 with India playing a supporting role. However, China sought the exclusion of India |
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Bhutan's position was described in 2002: |
Bhutan's position was described in 2002: |
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{{Quote|text=His Majesty the King explained to the members of National Assembly that there were, basically, four disputed areas between Bhutan and China. Starting from Doklam in the west the border goes along the ridges from Gamochen to Batangla, Sinchela, and down to the Amo Chhu. The disputed area in Doklam covered 89 square kilometers....|source=KuenselOnline <ref>{{Cite web |title=Bhutan-China Relations: Border Talks|author=Bhutan News Online|date=24 October 2002| accessdate=2 August 2017 |url= https://archive.li/tGLi6#selection-2363.0-2363.329}}</ref>}} |
{{Quote|text=His Majesty the King explained to the members of National Assembly that there were, basically, four disputed areas between Bhutan and China. Starting from Doklam in the west the border goes along the ridges from Gamochen to Batangla, Sinchela, and down to the Amo Chhu. The disputed area in Doklam covered 89 square kilometers....|source=KuenselOnline <ref>{{Cite web |title=Bhutan-China Relations: Border Talks|author=Bhutan News Online|date=24 October 2002| accessdate=2 August 2017 |url= https://archive.li/tGLi6#selection-2363.0-2363.329}}</ref>}} |
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In 2004, Bhutan's Secretary for International Borders reported the same claims to the National Assembly.<ref name="Natl_Assembly" |
In 2004, Bhutan's Secretary for International Borders reported the same claims to the National Assembly.<ref name="Natl_Assembly"/> |
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China |
China is believed to claim the Doklam area as Chinese territory based on the [[Convention of Calcutta|Anglo-Chinese Convention]] of 1890, negotiated between the British Empire in India and the Chinese royal mission.<ref name="Anglo-Chinese treaty">{{Cite book|url=http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/pdf/1894/TS0011.pdf|title=Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1890|last=|first=|publisher=British Foreign Office|year=1894|isbn=|location=London|pages=3}}</ref> The treaty states that representatives of Sikkim and Tibet were part of these negotiations, but records show that they were not present during the negotiations in Calcutta.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/pdf/1894/TS0011.pdf|title=Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1890|last=|first=|publisher=British Foreign Office|year=1894|isbn=|location=London|pages=1}}</ref><ref name=":0" >{{Cite book|title=History of Tibet|last=McKay|first=Alex|publisher=Routledge Curzon|year=2003|isbn=9780415308427|location=London|pages=142}}</ref> The territorial boundary between Sikkim and Tibet was delineated in the Article I of the treaty in the following manner: |
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{{Quote|text=The boundary of Sikkim and Tibet shall be the crest of the mountain range separating the waters flowing into the Sikkim Teesta and its affluents from the waters flowing into the Tibetan Mochu and northwards into other Rivers of Tibet. The line commences at Mount [[Gipmochi]] on the Bhutan frontier, and follows the above-mentioned water-parting to the point where it meets Nipal territory" .|sign=|source=Anglo-Chinese treaty of 1890<ref name=":2" />}} |
{{Quote|text=The boundary of Sikkim and Tibet shall be the crest of the mountain range separating the waters flowing into the Sikkim Teesta and its affluents from the waters flowing into the Tibetan Mochu and northwards into other Rivers of Tibet. The line commences at Mount [[Gipmochi]] on the Bhutan frontier, and follows the above-mentioned water-parting to the point where it meets Nipal territory" .|sign=|source=Anglo-Chinese treaty of 1890<ref name=":2" />}} |
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Mochu is the Tibetan name for the [[Amo Chu]] river. Gipmochi is mentioned in the Article as being on the Bhutan border, but no further details regarding Bhutan were given. Bhutan was not a signatory to the Anglo-Chinese treaty. |
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''[[The Diplomat]]'' has commented that the continuous mountain crest or watershed mentioned in the first sentence of the 1890 treaty appears to begin very near Batang La, on the northern ridge of the Doklam plateau, and that this suggests a contradiction between the first and second sentences of the above article of the treaty.<ref name=geography>Ankit Panda, [http://thediplomat.com/2017/07/the-political-geography-of-the-india-china-crisis-at-doklam/ The Political Geography of the India-China Crisis at Doklam], The Diplomat, 13 July 2017.</ref> This Batang La location is depicted and claimed as the trijunction point by Bhutan and India. |
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According to scholar [[Srinath Raghavan]], the watershed principle in the first sentence implies that the Batang La–Merug La–Sinchela ridge should be the China–Bhutan border because both Merug La, at {{convert|15,266|ft}}, and Sinchela, at {{convert|14,531|ft}}, are higher than Gipmochi at {{convert|14,523|ft}}.<ref name=Raghavan>Srinath Raghavan, [http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/kfpkmisQLSnGho2e2oo2rO/China-is-wrong-on-SikkimTibet-boundary.html China is wrong on Sikkim-Tibet boundary], ''livemint'', 7 August 2017.</ref> |
According to scholar [[Srinath Raghavan]], the watershed principle in the first sentence implies that the Batang La–Merug La–Sinchela ridge should be the China–Bhutan border because both Merug La, at {{convert|15,266|ft}}, and Sinchela, at {{convert|14,531|ft}}, are higher than Gipmochi at {{convert|14,523|ft}}.<ref name=Raghavan>Srinath Raghavan, [http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/kfpkmisQLSnGho2e2oo2rO/China-is-wrong-on-SikkimTibet-boundary.html China is wrong on Sikkim-Tibet boundary], ''livemint'', 7 August 2017.</ref> |
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{{quote|"Boundary talks are ongoing between Bhutan and China and we have written agreements of 1988 and 1998 stating that the two sides agree to maintain peace and tranquility in their border areas pending a final settlement on the boundary question, and to maintain status quo on the boundary as before March 1959. The agreements also state that the two sides will refrain from taking unilateral action, or use of force, to change the status quo of the boundary."|author=[[Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Bhutan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], [[Politics_of_Bhutan|Royal Government of Bhutan.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Release |author=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |work=The Royal Government of Bhutan |date=29 July 2017| accessdate=29 June 2017 |url=http://www.mfa.gov.bt/press-releases/press-release-272.html}}</ref>}} |
{{quote|"Boundary talks are ongoing between Bhutan and China and we have written agreements of 1988 and 1998 stating that the two sides agree to maintain peace and tranquility in their border areas pending a final settlement on the boundary question, and to maintain status quo on the boundary as before March 1959. The agreements also state that the two sides will refrain from taking unilateral action, or use of force, to change the status quo of the boundary."|author=[[Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Bhutan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], [[Politics_of_Bhutan|Royal Government of Bhutan.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Release |author=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |work=The Royal Government of Bhutan |date=29 July 2017| accessdate=29 June 2017 |url=http://www.mfa.gov.bt/press-releases/press-release-272.html}}</ref>}} |
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Notwithstanding the agreement, the PLA crossed into Bhutan in 1988 and took control of the Chumbi Valley near the Doklam plateau. There were reports |
Notwithstanding the agreement, the PLA crossed into Bhutan in 1988 and took control of the Chumbi Valley near the Doklam plateau. There were reports of the PLA troops threatening the Bhutanese guards, declaring it to be Chinese soil, and seizing and occupying Bhutanese posts for extended periods.<ref name=Benedictus/> Again, after 2000, numerous intrusions, grazing and road and infrastructure construction by the Chinese were reported as reported in the Bhutanese National Assembly.<ref name="Natl_Assembly 2009"/> |
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==2017 Doklam standoff== |
==2017 Doklam standoff== |
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India charges that China has violated this 'peace agreement' by trying to construct roads in Doklam.<ref name="skkim1">[http://www.firstpost.com/world/sikkim-standoff-beijing-should-realise-bhutan-is-as-important-to-india-as-north-korea-is-to-china-3760997.html Sikkim standoff: Beijing should realise Bhutan is as important to India as North Korea is to China], [http://www.firstpost.com First Post], 30 June 2017.</ref> |
India charges that China has violated this 'peace agreement' by trying to construct roads in Doklam.<ref name="skkim1">[http://www.firstpost.com/world/sikkim-standoff-beijing-should-realise-bhutan-is-as-important-to-india-as-north-korea-is-to-china-3760997.html Sikkim standoff: Beijing should realise Bhutan is as important to India as North Korea is to China], [http://www.firstpost.com First Post], 30 June 2017.</ref> |
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India has |
India has criticised China for "crossing the border" and attempting to construct a road (allegedly done "illegally"), while China has criticised India for entering its "territory".<ref name=vishnusom1>{{Cite news|last=Som |first=Vishnu |editor-last=Shukla |editor-first=Shuchi |title=At Heart Of India-China Standoff, A Road Being Built: 10 Points |date=29 June 2017 |newspaper=NDTV |url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/amid-india-china-standoff-army-chief-in-sikkim-today-10-facts-1718311 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629084547/http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/amid-india-china-standoff-army-chief-in-sikkim-today-10-facts-1718311 |archive-date=29 June 2017 |deadurl=no |df=dmy}}</ref> |
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On 29 June 2017, Bhutan protested to China against the construction of a road in the disputed territory.<ref>{{Cite web |
On 29 June 2017, Bhutan protested to China against the construction of a road in the disputed territory.<ref>{{Cite web |
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China claimed on 5 July 2017 it had for the past 24 months a "basic consensus" with Bhutan that Doklam belonged to China, and there was no dispute between the two countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/no-dispute-with-bhutan-in-doklam-china/articleshow/59456533.cms|title=No dispute with Bhutan in Doklam: China|first=|last=PTI|date=5 July 2017|publisher=|accessdate=6 July 2017|via=The Economic Times}}</ref> |
China claimed on 5 July 2017 it had for the past 24 months a "basic consensus" with Bhutan that Doklam belonged to China, and there was no dispute between the two countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/no-dispute-with-bhutan-in-doklam-china/articleshow/59456533.cms|title=No dispute with Bhutan in Doklam: China|first=|last=PTI|date=5 July 2017|publisher=|accessdate=6 July 2017|via=The Economic Times}}</ref> |
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In a 15 page statement released on August |
In a 15 page statement released on August 1, 2017, the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China|Foreign Ministry]] in Beijing accused India of using Bhutan as "a pretext" to intefere and impede the boundary talks between China and Bhutan. The report referred to India's "trespassing" into Doklam as a violation of the territorial sovereignty of China as well as a challenge to the sovereignty and independence of Bhutan.<ref>[http://www.livemint.com/Politics/ofIIdIQ8Dp93jC5EfUdUKJ/China-demands-unconditional-withdrawal-by-India-in-a-15page.html Don’t interfere in Bhutan’s dispute, China warns India in statement on Doklam], ''livemint'', 2 August 2017.</ref> |
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China says in the 15-page document that it notified India regarding its plan to construct road "in advance in full reflection of China’s goodwill". On 4 August 2017, The Ministry of External Affairs of India refused to confirm or deny this when asked that if India received notification, why it did not use diplomatic channels before sending its troops across the border but now is asking for diplomatic solution.<ref>{{Citation|last=Ministry of External Affairs, India|title=Weekly Media Briefing by Official Spokesperson (August 4, 2017)|date=2017-08-04|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJnAoru8VsY|accessdate=2017-08-16}}</ref> China charged that India is certainly not for peace though it always put peace on its lips.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-india-border-idUSKBN1AJ1TP|title=China says India building up troops amid border stand off|date=Fri Aug 04 03:42:13 UTC 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref> |
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The Bhutanese government on August 2017 later denied an earlier statement by China that Bhutan has relinquished its claims to Doklam.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bhutan Denies Ceded Claim Over Doklam|url=https://sputniknews.com/politics/201708111056370739-bhutan-doklam-disputed-area/|accessdate=13 August 2017|agency=Sputnik|date=11 August 2017}}</ref> |
The Bhutanese government on August 2017 later denied an earlier statement by China that Bhutan has relinquished its claims to Doklam.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bhutan Denies Ceded Claim Over Doklam|url=https://sputniknews.com/politics/201708111056370739-bhutan-doklam-disputed-area/|accessdate=13 August 2017|agency=Sputnik|date=11 August 2017}}</ref> |
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=== Chinese position === |
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Retired Australian-British [[journalist]] and scholar [[Neville Maxwell]], who is most famous for reshaping the now orthodox scholarly view on the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]]<ref>{{cite book |last = Maxwell |first = Neville |year = 2015 |title = India's China War (2nd Ed) |publisher = Natraj Publishers in Association with Wildlife Protection Society of India| location = New Delhi |isbn = 978-8181582508 |ref = none}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326032121/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~johnston/garver.pdf|title=Wayback Machine|date=2009-03-26|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref>, scathingly said of India on the current standoff:<ref name ="maxwell2017">Neville Maxwell, [http://m.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2102555/indias-china-war-round-two This Is India's China War, Round Two], Jul 14, 2017</ref> |
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⚫ | Chinese government maintains that from historical evidence, Donglang (Doklam) has always been the traditional pasture for the border inhabitants living in Yadong, a county in its autonomous region Tibetan, and China has exercised good administration over the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1474637.shtml|title=Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2017|website=www.fmprc.gov.cn|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/sikkim-standoff-china-rejects-bhutans-claim-says-doklam-has-historically-been-their-territory-3762433.html|title=Sikkim standoff: China rejects Bhutan's claim, says Doklam has historically been their territory|date=2017-06-30|work=Firstpost|access-date=2017-08-16|language=en-US}}</ref> It also says that before the 1960s, if border inhabitants of Bhutan wanted to herd in Doklam, they needed the consent of the Chinese side and had to pay the grass tax to China.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1474637.shtml|title=Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2017|website=www.fmprc.gov.cn|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref> |
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{{quote|"Every generation of literate Indians is inculcated with that false sense of national oppression by the cartographic image showing broad areas of Indian territory 'occupied' by China, with reminders that Beijing’s maps reveal an intention to seize even more... Time, weather and probably local human mischief will have obliterated the border markers [from 1890] but the careful verbal description in the Treaty prevails to prove that the local Indian commander, with or without higher orders, has blatantly moved forces into what is now Chinese territory. Beijing, sorely chafed already by India’s recent repeated provocations, appears to have decided that this is too much, and has itself adopted the absolutist Nehruvian position of 'no discussion without withdrawal'." |
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"The Indian attempt to depict this confrontation as tripartite should be disregarded. Bhutan is not an independent actor, is rather an Indian glove-puppet."}} |
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Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, stated in an article and later in an interview: "India is militarily engaging a state actor from the soil of a third country over a piece of land its partner country does not even control. Not even the mighty US does that" and "New Delhi does not possess legal standing to directly engage China to ease the stand-off in Doklam. That standing is held by Bhutan. Efforts to pre-empt this dilemma via talks will only add to the question of New Delhi’s motivations and purposes."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2103656/indias-got-itself-fine-mess-doklam-its-time-get-out-and-let|title=India needs to get out of the mess in Doklam|work=South China Morning Post|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=CGTN America|title=Sourabh Gupta on the China-India border stand-off|date=2017-07-25|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZzKbsjqMyg|accessdate=2017-08-16}}</ref> |
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P. Stobdan, a former Indian ambassador and an expert on Himalayan affairs, stated in an article that "The prevailing sentiment in Bhutan is in favour of resolving the issue with China amicably without further delay, so that the country can have a peaceful boundary with its northern neighbour as it has with India." <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/156180/bhutan-doklam-border-china/|title=In the Tri-Junction Entanglement, What Does Bhutan Want?|last=Stobdan|first=P.|website=thewire.in|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref> In another article, Mr. Stobdan stated: "Uncomfortable about the increasing cosiness between Bhutan and China, India looked for an opportunity to punish Thinley. Critics in Bhutan suggested that New Delhi had made up its mind to write a fine script for Thinley’s exit from power. Playing with electoral politics was not a big deal. In the days leading up to the Bhutanese general election in July 2013, New Delhi, in an unambiguous signal, abruptly cut subsidies on gas and kerosene sales, among other tough measures to Bhutan." "The tragedy was that India chose to leverage economic assistance as a tool to influence the election results. The story is no different from what China does to its neighbours. However, China does not allow itself to be seen as interfering in the internal affairs of others. In essence, India’s model of economic assistance to neighbours such as Bhutan and Nepal remains exploitative and no remedy exists for altering it yet."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/157293/india-china-doklam-real-problem-bhutan/|title=India's Real Problem Lies in its Bhutan Policy, Not the Border|last=Stobdan|first=P.|website=thewire.in|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref> |
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The standoff between China and India stems from India's security concern of its [[Siliguri Corridor]], according to official position statement ''Recent Developments in Doklam Area'' <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/28572/Recent_Developments_in_Doklam_Area|title=Recent Developments in Doklam Area|website=mea.gov.in|language=en|access-date=2017-08-16}}</ref> released by India on 2017-06-30, but China, in its 15-page official position statement ''The Facts and China's Position Concerning the Indian Border Troops' Crossing of the China-India Boundary in the Sikkim Sector into the Chinese Territory'' released on 2017-08-02, criticized India's action and position as excuses for illegal intrusion into Chinese territory and violation of Chinese territorial sovereignty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/P020170802542676636134.pdf|title=The Facts and China's Position Concerning the Indian Border Troops' Crossing of the China-India Boundary in the Sikkim Sector into the Chinese Territory (2017-08-02)|last=China Foreign Ministry|date=2017-08-02|website=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/|archive-url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/P020170802542676636134.pdf|archive-date=2017-08-02|access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref> A Chinese observation post on the mountain of Gipmochi would have a clear view of this vital corridor which is heavily fortified by Indian troops. Scholar Caroline Brassard states, "its strategic significance for the Indian military is obvious." Distinguished Indian scholar Dr. [[Manoj Joshi]] in New Delhi stated in a video interview that "if we think the [[Siliguri Corridor]] is vulnerable, equally, the Chinese think the [[Chumbi Valley]] is vulnerable, because on one side of [[Chumbi Valley]] we have very strong forces in [[Sikkim]], and even armors and tanks ...."<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://thewire.in/155118/india-china-face-off-watch-manoj-joshi-m-k-venu-discuss/|title=India-China Face-Off: Watch Manoj Joshi and M.K. Venu Discuss|last=Staff|first=The Wire|date=|website=thewire.in|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731014232/https://thewire.in/155118/india-china-face-off-watch-manoj-joshi-m-k-venu-discuss/|archivedate=31 July 2017|deadurl=no|accessdate=27 July 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He explained that the China-India-Bhutan tri-junction point cannot be Batang La as India claimed because India, as the successors of the British, is party to the 1890 convention, which explicitly says that Mount [[Gipmochi]] is the tr-ijunction, though Bhutan is not, and that therefore Doklam/Donglang belongs to China as per this treaty. He further explained that because Bhutan is not a party to this treaty, the dispute on the Doklam/Donglang area is between Bhutan and China, but Bhutan did not claim the area until November 2000 at the 14th round of boundary talk it had with China. He stated that India would need to withdraw its troops and that "this is something we ought to encourage Bhutan and China to settle."<ref name="auto" /> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 17:16, 16 August 2017
27°18′N 88°56′E / 27.300°N 88.933°E
Doklam | |||||||
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Doklam or Zhoglam (in Standard Tibetan),[1] known as Donglang (Chinese: 洞朗; pinyin: Dònglǎng) in China,[2][3] is an area with a plateau and a valley, lying between Tibet's Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan's Ha Valley to the east and India's Sikkim state to the west. It has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961, but it is also claimed by China. To date, the dispute has not been resolved after 24 rounds of border negotiations between Bhutan and China.[4][5][6] The area is of strategic importance to all three countries.[7]
In June 2017 a military standoff occurred between China and India as China attempted to extend a road on the Doklam plateau southwards near the Doka La pass.[4][5] Bhutan has formally objected to China's road construction in the disputed area.[8]
Geography
The Imperial Gazetteer of India, representing the 19th century British view of the territory, states that the Dongkya range that separates Sikkim from the Chumbi Valley bifurcates at Mount Gipmochi into two great spurs, one running south-west and the other running south-east. Between these two spurs runs the valley of the Dichul or Jaldhaka river.[9]
However, the Dongkya range that normally runs in the north–south direction gently curves to east–west at the southern end of the Chumbi Valley, running through the Batang La and Sinchela passes and sloping down to the plain. A second ridge to the south, called the Zornpelri or Jampheri ridge, runs in parallel to the first ridge, separated by the Doklam or Doka La valley in the middle. At the top of the valley, the two ridges are joined, forming a plateau. The higest points of the plateau are on its western shoulder, between Batang La and Mount Gipmochi, and the plateau slopes down towards the southeast. A stream flows down the Doklam vally collecting the run-off water from the plateau, and joins the Amo Chu river about 15 km to the southeast.
The 89 sq. km. area between the western shoulder of the plateau and the joining point of the Doklam stream with the Amo Chu river is currently called Doklam ('rocky path').[10]
India's Sikkim state lies to the west of the Dongkya range, the western shoulder of the Doklam plateau and the 'southwest spur' of the Dongkya range at the south. The Zornpelri ridge separates Bhutan's Haa District (to the north) and the Samtse (to the south). Bhutan's claimed border runs along the northern ridge of the Doklam plateau until Sinchela and then moves down the valley to the Amo Chu river. China's claim of the border includes the entire Doklam area within the Chumbi Valley, ending at the Zornpelri ridge on the south and the joining point of the Doklam river on the east.
History
The historical status of the Doklam plateau is uncertain.
According to the Sikkimese tradition, when the Kingdom of Sikkim was founded in 1642, it included all the areas surrounding the Doklam plateau: the Chumbi Valley to the north, the Haa Valley to the east as well as the Darjeeling and Kalimpong areas to the southwest. During the 18th century, Sikkim faced repeated raids from Bhutan and these areas often changed hands. After a Bhutanese attack in 1780, a settlement was reached, which resulted in the transfer of the Haa valley and the Kalimpong area to Bhutan. The Doklam plateau sandwiched between these regions is likely to have been part of these territories. The Chumbi Valley was still said to have been under the control of Sikkim at this point.[12][13]
However, historians doubt this narrative. Saul Mullard states that the early kingdom of Sikkim was very much limited to the western part of modern Sikkim. The eastern part was under the control of independent chiefs, who did face border conflicts with the Bhutanese, losing the Kalimpong area.[14] The possession of the Chumbi valley is uncertain, but the Tibetans are known to have fended off Bhutanese incursions there.[15]
After the unification of Nepal under the Gorkhas in 1756, Nepal and Bhutan had coordinated their attacks on Sikkim. Bhutan was eliminated from the contest by an Anglo-Bhutanese treaty in 1774.[16] Tibet enforced a settlement between Sikkim and Nepal, which is said to have irked Nepal. Following this, by 1788, Nepal occupied all of the Sikkim areas to the west of Teesta as well as four provinces of Tibet.[17] Tibet eventually sought the help of China, resulting in the Sino-Nepalese War of 1792. This proved to be a decisive entry of China into the Himalayan politics. The victorious Chinese general ordered a land survey, in the process of which the Chumbi valley was declared to be part of Tibet.[18] The Sikkimese resented the losses forced on them in the aftermath of the war.[19]
In the following decades, Sikkim established relations with the British East India Company and regained some of its lost territory after the Anglo-Nepalese War. However, the relations with the British remained rocky and the Sikkimese retained loyalties to Tibet. The British attempted to enforce their suzerainty via the Treaty of Tumlong in 1861. In 1890, they sought to exclude the Tibetans from Sikkim by establishing a treaty with the Chinese, who, they believed, exercised suzerainty over Tibet. The Anglo-Chinese treaty recognized Sikkim as a British protectorate and defined the border between Sikkim and Tibet as the northern watershed of the Teesta River (on the Dongkya range), starting at the Mount Gipmochi on the southwestern corner of the Doklam plateau. In 1904, the British signed another treaty with Tibet, which confirmed the terms of the Anglo-Chinese treaty. The boundary established between Sikkim and Tibet in the treaty still survives today, according to scholar John Prescott.[20][21][22][23]
Bhutan became a protected state (though not a 'protectorate') of British India in 1910, an arrangement continued by independent India in 1949.[24] However, Bhutan retained its independence in all internal matters and its borders were not demarcated until 1961.[25] It is said that the China cites maps from before 1912 to stake its claim over Doklam.[26]
Sino-Bhutanese border dispute at Doklam
From 1958, Chinese maps started showing large parts of Bhutanese territory as part of China..[27] In 1960, China issued a statement claiming that Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh were part of a unified family in Tibet and had always been subject to the "great motherland of China". Alarmed, Bhutan closed off its border with China and shut all trade and diplomatic contacts.[28] It also established formal defense arrangements with India.[27]
In 1966, the Tibetan grazers entered the pastures near the Doklam plateau accompanied by the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).[28][27] The Goverment of Bhutan issued a statement in protest stating, "This area is traditionally part of Bhutan and no assertion has been made by the Government of the People's Republic of China disputing the traditional frontier which runs along recognizable natural features."[a] China later formally extended claims to 300 sq. miles of territory in northeastern Bhutan and areas north of Punakha, but apparently not in Doklam. Bhutan requested the Indian government to raise the matter with China. However, China rejected India's initiatives stating that the issue concerned China and Bhutan alone.[31] The Chinese troops withdrew after a month. The fracas over Doklam brought Bhutan even closer to India, resulting in the appointment of 3,400 Indian defence personnel in Bhutan for training the Bhutanese Army.[27]
Border negotiations between Bhutan and China began in 1972 with India playing a supporting role. However, China sought the exclusion of India.[28] Bhutan commenced its own border negotiations with China in 1984 and, according to several published reports, reduced 1,128 sq. km of disputed border areas to 269 sq. km by 1999.[32] However, the apparent progress of the negotiations may be deceptive. Scholars note a reduction of 8,606 sq. km area in the official Bhutanese maps. The Kula Kangri mountain, touted as the tallest peak in Bhutan, has apparently been ceded to China.[33] Secondly, the Chinese offered a "package deal" to Bhutan in 1996, offering to give up claims on 495 sq. km in the central region in exchange for 269 sq. km in the northwest, the latter including Doklam, Sinchulumpa, Dramana and Shakhatoe, all adjoining the Chumbi Valley. Scholars note that these areas offer strategic depth to Chinese defences and access to the strategic Siliguri Corridor of India. Bhutan turned down the offer, allegedly under Indian persuasion.[34][35]
Having turned down China's package deal, Bhutanese government put forward in 2000 its claim line originally proposed in 1989. The talks could make no progress afterwards. The government reported that, in 2004, China started building roads in the border areas, leading to repeated protests by the Bhutanese government based on the 1998 Peace and Tranquility Agreement.[36] According to a Bhutanese reporter, the most contested area has been the Doklam plateau.[37] Chinese built a road up the Sinchela pass (in undisputed territory) and then over the plateau (in disputed territory), leading up to the Doka La pass, until reaching within 68 metres distance to the Indian border post on the Sikkim border. Here, they constructed a turn-around facilitating vehicles to turn back. This road has been in existence at least since 2005.[4][38][39]
Current position
Bhutan's position was described in 2002:
His Majesty the King explained to the members of National Assembly that there were, basically, four disputed areas between Bhutan and China. Starting from Doklam in the west the border goes along the ridges from Gamochen to Batangla, Sinchela, and down to the Amo Chhu. The disputed area in Doklam covered 89 square kilometers....
— KuenselOnline [40]
In 2004, Bhutan's Secretary for International Borders reported the same claims to the National Assembly.[6]
China is believed to claim the Doklam area as Chinese territory based on the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890, negotiated between the British Empire in India and the Chinese royal mission.[41] The treaty states that representatives of Sikkim and Tibet were part of these negotiations, but records show that they were not present during the negotiations in Calcutta.[42][43] The territorial boundary between Sikkim and Tibet was delineated in the Article I of the treaty in the following manner:
The boundary of Sikkim and Tibet shall be the crest of the mountain range separating the waters flowing into the Sikkim Teesta and its affluents from the waters flowing into the Tibetan Mochu and northwards into other Rivers of Tibet. The line commences at Mount Gipmochi on the Bhutan frontier, and follows the above-mentioned water-parting to the point where it meets Nipal territory" .
— Anglo-Chinese treaty of 1890[42]
Mochu is the Tibetan name for the Amo Chu river. Gipmochi is mentioned in the Article as being on the Bhutan border, but no further details regarding Bhutan were given. Bhutan was not a signatory to the Anglo-Chinese treaty.
The Diplomat has commented that the continuous mountain crest or watershed mentioned in the first sentence of the 1890 treaty appears to begin very near Batang La, on the northern ridge of the Doklam plateau, and that this suggests a contradiction between the first and second sentences of the above article of the treaty.[4] This Batang La location is depicted and claimed as the trijunction point by Bhutan and India.
According to scholar Srinath Raghavan, the watershed principle in the first sentence implies that the Batang La–Merug La–Sinchela ridge should be the China–Bhutan border because both Merug La, at 15,266 feet (4,653 m), and Sinchela, at 14,531 feet (4,429 m), are higher than Gipmochi at 14,523 feet (4,427 m).[44]
Bhutan and China border agreements 1988 and 1998
Bhutan and China have held 24 rounds of boundary talks since it began in 1984. The Royal Government of Bhutan claims that the present road construction on the Doklam Plateau amounts to unilateral change to a disputed boundary by China in violation to the 1988 and 1998 agreements between the two nations. The agreement also prohibits the use of force and encourages both parties to strictly adhere to use peaceful means.
"Boundary talks are ongoing between Bhutan and China and we have written agreements of 1988 and 1998 stating that the two sides agree to maintain peace and tranquility in their border areas pending a final settlement on the boundary question, and to maintain status quo on the boundary as before March 1959. The agreements also state that the two sides will refrain from taking unilateral action, or use of force, to change the status quo of the boundary."
Notwithstanding the agreement, the PLA crossed into Bhutan in 1988 and took control of the Chumbi Valley near the Doklam plateau. There were reports of the PLA troops threatening the Bhutanese guards, declaring it to be Chinese soil, and seizing and occupying Bhutanese posts for extended periods.[28] Again, after 2000, numerous intrusions, grazing and road and infrastructure construction by the Chinese were reported as reported in the Bhutanese National Assembly.[36]
2017 Doklam standoff
In June 2017, Doka La became the site of a stand-off between the armed forces of India and China following an attempt by China to extend a road from Yadong further southward on the Doklam plateau. Unlike China and Bhutan, India does not have a claim on Doklam; however, India supports Bhutan's claim on the territory.[46] According to the Bhutanese government, China attempted to extend a road that previously terminated at Doka La towards the Bhutan Army camp at Zornpelri near the Jampheri Ridge two km to the south; that ridge, viewed as the border by China but as wholly within Bhutan by both Bhutan and India, extends eastward approaching India's highly-strategic Siliguri corridor.[47] On 18 June, Indian troops apparently crossed into the territory in dispute between China and Bhutan in an attempt to prevent the road construction.[48] In a 1949 treaty, Bhutan agreed to let India guide its foreign policy and defence affairs. In 2007, the treaty was superseded by a new friendship treaty that replaced the provision that made it mandatory for Bhutan to take India's guidance on foreign policy, providing broader sovereignty to Bhutan and not requiring it to obtain India's permission over arms imports.[49][50]
India charges that China has violated this 'peace agreement' by trying to construct roads in Doklam.[51]
India has criticised China for "crossing the border" and attempting to construct a road (allegedly done "illegally"), while China has criticised India for entering its "territory".[52]
On 29 June 2017, Bhutan protested to China against the construction of a road in the disputed territory.[53] On the same day, the Bhutanese border was put on high alert and border security was tightened as a result of the growing tensions.[54] On the same day, China released a map depicting Doklam as part of China. China claimed, via the map, that territory south to Gipmochi belonged to China and claimed it was supported by the 1890 Britain-China treaty.[55]
On 3 July 2017, China told India that former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru accepted the 1890 Britain-China treaty.[56] Contrary to Chinese claim, Nehru’s 26 September 1959 letter to Zhou, cited by China, was a point-by-point refutation of the claims made by the latter on 8 September 1959. Nehru made is amply clear in his refutal that the 1890 treaty defined only the northern part of the Sikkim-Tibet border and not the tri-junction area.
China claimed on 5 July 2017 it had for the past 24 months a "basic consensus" with Bhutan that Doklam belonged to China, and there was no dispute between the two countries.[57]
In a 15 page statement released on August 1, 2017, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing accused India of using Bhutan as "a pretext" to intefere and impede the boundary talks between China and Bhutan. The report referred to India's "trespassing" into Doklam as a violation of the territorial sovereignty of China as well as a challenge to the sovereignty and independence of Bhutan.[58]
The Bhutanese government on August 2017 later denied an earlier statement by China that Bhutan has relinquished its claims to Doklam.[59]
Chinese position
Chinese government maintains that from historical evidence, Donglang (Doklam) has always been the traditional pasture for the border inhabitants living in Yadong, a county in its autonomous region Tibetan, and China has exercised good administration over the area.[60] [61] It also says that before the 1960s, if border inhabitants of Bhutan wanted to herd in Doklam, they needed the consent of the Chinese side and had to pay the grass tax to China.[62]
See also
Notes
- ^ Press Statement of 3rd October, 1966, issued on behalf of the Bhutan Government by its Trade Adviser in Calcutta: "His Majesty's Government of Bhutan had for some time, been concerned with reports received from its patrols of a number of intrusions by Tibetan graziers and Chinese troops in the Doklam pastures which are adjacent to the southern part of the Chumbi Valley. This area is traditionally part of Bhutan and no assertion has been made by the Government of the People's Republic of China disputing the traditional frontier which runs along recognizable natural features. In the area of the intrusion, the boundary runs along the water-parting along Batang La to Sinchel La. Local attempts were made to inform the graziers and the Chinese troops that they had strayed into Bhutanese territory but these have not been heeded."[29][30]
References
- ^ Ramakrushna Pradhan, Doklam Standoff: Beyond Border Dispute, Mainstream Weekly, 29 July 2017.
- ^ "Doklam standoff: China sends a warning to India over border dispute". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ Liu Lin, India-China Doklam Standoff: A Chinese Perspective, The Diplomat, 27 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d Ankit Panda, The Political Geography of the India-China Crisis at Doklam, The Diplomat, 13 July 2017.
- ^ a b Banyan, A Himalayan spat between China and India evokes memories of war, The Economist, 27 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Translation of the Proceedings and Resolutions of the 82nd Session of the National Assembly Of Bhutan" (PDF). June–August 2004. p. 84. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- ^ People say in Doklam, India is better placed. Why do we think Chinese could only act here? says Shyam Saran, The Indian Express, 12 August 2017.
- ^ "Press Release – Ministry of Foreign Affairs". www.mfa.gov.bt. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series, Usha, 1984, p. 487
- ^ "The Facts and China's Position Concerning the Indian Border Troops' Crossing of the China-India Boundary in the Sikkim Sector into the Chinese Territory". Government of China. 1 August 2017. Appendix I.
- ^ Sir Clements Robert Markham (1876). Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet and of the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa. Trübner and Co.
- ^ Harris, Area Handbook for Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim 1977, pp. 387–388.
- ^ Chandran & Singh, India, China and Sub-regional Connectivities 2015, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Mullard, Opening the Hidden Land 2011, pp. 147–150.
- ^ Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History 1984, p. 122.
- ^ Banerji, Arun Kumar (2007), "Borders", in Jayanta Kumar Ray (ed.), Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World, Pearson Education India, p. 196, ISBN 978-81-317-0834-7
- ^ Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History 1984, p. 157.
- ^ Bajpai, China's Shadow over Sikkim 1999, pp. 17–19.
- ^ Mullard, Opening the Hidden Land 2011, pp. 178–179.
- ^ Mullard, Opening the Hidden Land 2011, pp. 183–184.
- ^ Prescott, Map of Mainland Asia by Treaty 1975, pp. 261–262.
- ^ Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History 1984, p. 217.
- ^ Phuntsho, The History of Bhutan 2013, p. 405.
- ^ Kharat, Rajesh (2009), "Indo-Bhutan relations: Strategic perspectives", in K. Warikoo (ed.), Himalayan Frontiers of India: Historical, Geo-Political and Strategic Perspectives, Routledge, p. 139, ISBN 978-1-134-03294-5
- ^ Manoj Joshi, Doklam, Gipmochi, Gyemochen: It’s Hard Making Cartographic Sense of a Geopolitical Quagmire, The Wire, 20 July 2017.
- ^ Govinda Rizal, While the big and the small dragons tryst in Dok-la, the elephant trumpets loud, Bhutan News Service, 27 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d Sandeep Bharadwaj, Doklam may bring Bhutan closer to India, livemint, 9 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d Benedictus, Brian (2 August 2014), "Bhutan and the Great Power Tussle", The Diplomat
- ^ Jain, Rajendra Kumar (1981), China South Asian Relations, 1947-1980, Radiant, p. 351, ISBN 978-0-391-02251-5
- ^ India. Ministry of External Affairs (1969), Notes, Memoranda and Letters Exchanged and Agreements Signed Between the Governments of India and China: Feb. 1966-Feb.1967, p. 63
- ^ Jha, Tilak (2013), China and its Peripheries: Limited Objectives in Bhutan, New Delhi: Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Issue Brief #233
- ^ Taylor & Francis Group (2004), Europa World Year, Taylor & Francis, p. 794, ISBN 978-1-85743-254-1
- ^ Kumar, Acharya & Jacob, Sino-Bhutanese Relations 2011, p. 248.
- ^ Kumar, Acharya & Jacob, Sino-Bhutanese Relations 2011, p. 247.
- ^ Singh, Mandip (2013), Critical Assessment of China's Vulnerabilities in Tibet (PDF), Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, ISBN 978-93-82169-10-9
- ^ a b Proceedings and Resolutions of the 4th Session of the National Assembly, National Assembly of Bhutan, 2009, p. 20
- ^ Govinda Rizal, Bhutan-China Border Mismatch, Bhutan News Service, 1 January 2013.
- ^ Motorable track at the centre of tug-of-war with Beijing, The Indian Express, 13 July 2017.
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- ^ Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1890 (PDF). London: British Foreign Office. 1894. p. 3.
- ^ a b Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1890 (PDF). London: British Foreign Office. 1894. p. 1.
- ^ McKay, Alex (2003). History of Tibet. London: Routledge Curzon. p. 142. ISBN 9780415308427.
- ^ Srinath Raghavan, China is wrong on Sikkim-Tibet boundary, livemint, 7 August 2017.
- ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (29 July 2017). "Press Release". The Royal Government of Bhutan. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- ^ Staff (28 June 2017). "Indian bunker in Sikkim removed by China: Sources". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Shaurya Karanbir Gurung Behind China's Sikkim aggression, a plan to isolate Northeast from rest of India, Economic Times, 3 July 2017.
- ^ Ankit Panda, What's Driving the India-China Standoff at Doklam?, The Diplomat, 18 July 2017.
- ^ "South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan". Asia Times Online. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Editorial". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ Sikkim standoff: Beijing should realise Bhutan is as important to India as North Korea is to China, First Post, 30 June 2017.
- ^ Som, Vishnu (29 June 2017). Shukla, Shuchi (ed.). "At Heart Of India-China Standoff, A Road Being Built: 10 Points". NDTV. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Bhutan protests against China's road construction". The Straits Times. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ "Bhutan issues scathing statement against China, claims Beijing violated border agreements of 1988, 1998". Firstpost. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: China releases new map showing territorial claims at stand-off site". Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ "Nehru Accepted 1890 Treaty; India Using Bhutan to Cover up Entry: China". Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ PTI (5 July 2017). "No dispute with Bhutan in Doklam: China". Retrieved 6 July 2017 – via The Economic Times.
- ^ Don’t interfere in Bhutan’s dispute, China warns India in statement on Doklam, livemint, 2 August 2017.
- ^ "Bhutan Denies Ceded Claim Over Doklam". Sputnik. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2017". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ "Sikkim standoff: China rejects Bhutan's claim, says Doklam has historically been their territory". Firstpost. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2017". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
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- Chandran, D. Suba; Singh, Bhavna (2015), India, China and Sub-regional Connectivities in South Asia, SAGE Publications, ISBN 978-93-5150-326-2
- Harris, George L. (1977) [first published by American University, 1964], Area Handbook for Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim (second ed.), U.S. Government Printing Office
- Kumar, Pranav; Acharya, Alka; Jacob, Jabin T. (2011). "Sino-Bhutanese Relations". China Report. 46 (3): 243–252. doi:10.1177/000944551104600306. ISSN 0009-4455.
- Mullard, Saul (2011), Opening the Hidden Land: State Formation and the Construction of Sikkimese History, BRILL, ISBN 90-04-20895-X
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