India China Standoff: Heavy gathering of Chinese army near Doklam, India’s concern increased

Serious concern is being expressed by the Indian Army over the massive construction activities by China in the Amo Chu river valley in Bhutan. Amo Chu is near the strategic Doklam Plateau, from where India’s Siliguri Corridor is in direct line of sight to China’s PLA (People’s Liberation Army). It is barely a short distance from the India-China-Bhutan Doklam tri-junction where there was an intense military standoff between India and China in 2017 over the construction of a road by Beijing. According to India Today’s report, communication towers as well as permanent bases of PLA soldiers are visible in Amo Chu. About 1,000 permanent military huts as well as several temporary sheds have been built in recent months to house thousands of PLA soldiers.

After facing strong retaliatory action from the Indian Army in Doklam, the PLA is trying to reach the same area through an alternate means to bypass the Indian defenses west of Doklam. Doklam is an isolated plateau that was hardly patrolled by Chinese or Bhutanese forces before 2017, when the Indian Army came on the scene. Chinese history claims Bhutan as part of its territory. In 1960, the Chinese government issued a statement claiming Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh as part of a ‘unified’ Tibet.

Indian military planners believe that any activity in China-controlled Bhutanese territory west of Doklam would threaten India’s security interests. Indian security experts say that control over the Doklam Plateau will give strategic advantage to China. The Doklam Plateau overlooks the strategic Siliguri Corridor to the south, in addition to a panoramic view of the Chumbi Valley, located between Bhutan and Sikkim. The top leadership of the Indian Army recently met Indian officials engaged in capacity building of the Bhutanese Army in Ha district. The massive Chinese build-up was mentioned in the meeting. Ha district is just east of the disputed areas where China is building new villages.

Recently, Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering created a furore when he said that Beijing has an equal right to find a solution to the dispute on the Doklam plateau. In an interview to a Belgian publication, Tshering said that bilateral talks to resolve the long-standing Bhutan-China border dispute have reached an advanced stage. He said a delegation from the Bhutanese government had visited Beijing in February, while a “technical team” from China is expected to reach Bhutan soon. Indian military observers at South Block are unclear whether all this suggests Bhutan may be ready to cede to China the territories it has lost along its western border in an effort to retain territories in the north.