A group of Indian Congress Party members of parliament (MPs) believe that a Chinese military village and other defense installations put up near the 2017 face-off point between Indian and Chinese troops near the trijunction of India, Bhutan, and China “threaten” the national security of India.
Syed Nasser Hussain, Pramod Tiwari, Jebi Mather and Amee Yajnik — four members of parliament from the opposition Congress Party in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) — on Monday wrote to the chairman of the upper house, Jagdeep Dhankar, who is also vice president of the country, demanding a discussion on the matter.
The MPs insist the Chinese Army installations near the tri-border are a “blatant violation of China’s disengagement from Doklam” agreed upon in August 2017, and also a “brazen annexation of Bhutan’s territory.”
The MPs also added that the “Chinese build-up” up to the Jhamperi Ridge poses a threat to India’s "chicken-neck," or Siliguri Corridor, a narrow strip of land connecting the Indian mainland to the seven northeastern states.
Citing satellite images, the MPs further expressed concern over a bridge being built at Torsa Nullah that would reportedly provide the Chinese troops access to the Jhamperi Ridge, overlooking the Siliguri Corridor.
Besides the military village, Beijing is also constructing an all-weather road and a bridge along the banks of the nearby Mochu River, the politicians added.
The satellite images showing the Chinese village and other developments near the Doklam faceoff site were provided by US space technology company Maxar in July this year.
Previously, other open-source intelligence (OSINT) indicated that Beijing had been involved in ramping up its infrastructure near the trijunction.
As per a 1949 treaty between Bhutan and India, New Delhi should guide Thimpu on matters concerning foreign policy and defense.
Meanwhile, Bhutan is yet to establish formal diplomatic ties with Beijing, its biggest neighbor.
The two countries share a 477-kilometre border, albeit China is eyeing around 700 kilometers of Bhutanese territory, including the strategically-located area around the Doklam Plateau. Beijing has offered to forgo its territorial claims in other parts of Bhutan in exchange for control over Doklam, a proposition so far rejected by India.