The Chinese town of Pangda lies 2 kilometers within the territory of Bhutan, its state media suggested.
New Delhi:
China has established a village 2 km inside the territory of Bhutan, very close to Doklam, where the Chinese and Indian militaries had a tense clash in 2017, images published by a senior journalist in Chinese state media showed on Thursday.
In tweets that have since been deleted, Shen Shiwei, a senior producer for Chinese CGTN News, posted the images this morning of the village established in what he said was the Doklam area and then indicated the precise location of the settlement.
1.This is an amazing tweet with clear evidence of a CHINESE LANDGRAB WITHIN BHUTANE TERRITORY, app. 9 km from the place of the confrontation between India and China in Doklam. The map shown here by @shen_shiwei, a senior journalist from Chinese state media, indicates that this village is 2 km inside Bhutan https://t.co/UdNtS309yM
– Vishnu Som (@VishnuNDTV) November 19, 2020
2. Let me make it clearer by comparing your location on the map (top image) with the actual position on the ground (bottom). pic.twitter.com/cH67wV4uyC
– Vishnu Som (@VishnuNDTV) November 19, 2020
3. For reference, the big red box is where the Doklam clash between India and China took place a few years ago. And the little box is where the village stands by @shen_shiweipic.twitter.com/CzNqZlz4Lq
– Vishnu Som (@VishnuNDTV) November 19, 2020
4. And this is a remote location: Sikkim to the west, China to the north and the village location to the east, within Bhutan. pic.twitter.com/zS2alRArHc
– Vishnu Som (@VishnuNDTV) November 19, 2020
Nice catch Vishnu, followed his trail, clearly a settlement has sprung up right there! Adding an image here. https://t.co/c0JURq2pUTpic.twitter.com/wm1TH1lZPD
– d-atis☠️ (@detresfa_) November 19, 2020
Here’s a CGTN news producer who openly admits that China has occupied and now populated part of a sovereign country. This Pangda village has been built (as shown on the included map) ~ 2.5 km beyond the international border of Bhutan. China now baselessly claims about 12% of Bhutan. https://t.co/3TxNSffYdJpic.twitter.com/fEAgWXk7Ln
– Nathan Ruser (@ Nrg8000) November 19, 2020
If you look at the map Shen shares, he blatantly cuts out so it doesn’t show that the settlement he’s talking about is across the border from Bhutan. The second image shows the border. pic.twitter.com/uRdp4QaIad
– Nathan Ruser (@ Nrg8000) November 19, 2020
The Chinese town of Pangda is located 2 kilometers within the territory of Bhutan and is an indicator of what India has always feared: “cutting salami” by the Chinese, which refers to Beijing’s attempts to cut the Indian and Bhutan territory.
The Chinese settlement has risen only 9 km from the Doklam fighting site.
The now deleted tweet from a senior journalist from Chinese state media.
Comparing the location of the Chinese state media village with the actual location of the terrain.
The move is particularly concerning for India, as it is responsible for the territorial integrity of Bhutan, which has a limited armed force.
NDTV is approaching the government of Bhutan to ask if they have allowed China to populate areas within their territory.
The Doklam clash had been the most serious clash in decades between India and China before the clash in eastern Ladakh that began earlier this year and reached its peak in June with a clash that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and a number Chinese casualties unspecified.
Since then, nuclear-armed countries have sent tens of thousands of troops to the rugged border between Ladakh and the China-controlled Tibetan Plateau, increasing the risk of further confrontation even as ways are sought to reduce escalation.
Last week, government sources told NDTV that India and China have prepared a three-phase plan for the disconnection, however, there is no signature or agreement on the implementation of the plan yet. No time frame has been agreed to implement the plan; nor is it decided to what extent it will happen between the two parties.
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