Beijing, Oct 15 China and Bhutan have agreed to work together to build on the “positive momentum” to resolve their border dispute as the two sides held the 16th round of their Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the boundary issue in Thimphu.
The three-day talks, 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, Secretary of the International Boundaries of Bhutan, concluded on Thursday.
“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,” said a joint press release issued by the two countries.
“The two sides agreed to work together to build on the positive momentum,” it said.
The two sides also held the 4th meeting of the Joint Technical Team on Delimitation and Demarcation (JTTDD) of the China-Bhutan Boundary on the sidelines of the EGM.
“The two sides reached positive understandings on the roadmap for the next phase,” it said.
In the last JTTDD meeting in Beijing in April, the two sides discussed boundary alignment in areas where there are no disputes. It was regarded as progress by both sides.
The discussions at the 16th EGM were held in a warm and friendly atmosphere in keeping with the ties of friendship and cooperation between China and Bhutan, the release said.
The two sides agreed to hold the next EGM at a mutually convenient date in due course.
China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contact through periodic visits by officials.
While Beijing has resolved the boundary disputes with 12 neighbouring nations, India and Bhutan are the only two countries with which China is yet to resolve its border dispute.
In 2023, the two countries agreed to expedite negotiations to settle their border dispute through a three-step roadmap.
Bhutan shares about a 477-km-long border with China. The two countries held 25 rounds of talks to resolve the border dispute.
India and China have held 24 rounds of the Special Representatives talks to resolve the border disputes spanning 3,488 km along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to establish full-fledged diplomatic ties with Bhutan and to expedite negotiations to reach a settlement for the vexed border dispute, which was complicated by Beijing’s attempts to claim Doklam area despite Thimphu’s assertions that the region belonged to it.
China’s attempts to build a road in the Doklam plateau in 2017 resulted in an India-China standoff, triggering tensions between the two neighbours.
India strongly opposed the construction of the road by the Chinese military at Doklam as it would have impacted its overall security interests since it runs close to the narrow Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken Neck, connecting India with the north-east.
The standoff ended after Beijing dropped its plan to build the road.
Also in 2020, China made a surprising claim on Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council by opposing funding for the project. Bhutan lodged a demarche to the Chinese Embassy in India over China’s claim.
(PTI News)
