(This story originally appeared in
on Aug 17, 2017)
NEW DELHI: The executive and legislative arms of the
Bhutanese government have categorically rejected Beijing’s recent claims that Thimphu considered Dokalam, located in the crucial tri-junction with India, as a part of China.
The records of the latest proceedings of both Houses of the Bhutanese Parliament seen by ET do not support China’s claim on Doklam. The records, instead, make it clear that Thimphu has been consistently referring to Dokalam as one of the “disputed areas” between
Bhutan and China, and that it has never given up its claim on the territory.
Dokalam, along the disputed border between Bhutan and China and at the tri-junction (
India-Bhutan-China), is the site of the eyeball-toeyeball troop deployment by India and China since mid-June.
Last November, Bhutan’s foreign minister Damcho Dorjee told the country’s National Council that Doklam was among the disputed areas between the Himalayan state and China. He referred to Dokalam as a disputed area between China and Bhutan during the 18th session of the National Council or Upper House of Bhutanese Parliament. He was responding to a question from
TsheringDorjee, a member of the National Council from the Haa district in western Bhutan, according to the records of Bhutanese Parliament seen by ET.
Dorjee made the statement four months after Bhutan and China had held the last of the 24 rounds of border negotiations. As the two neighbours did not hold any further negotiation on the boundary dispute since August 2016, Bhutan has not reached a breakthrough with China on the dispute over Dokalam, persons familiar with the matter indicated.