Page 627 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

d. On both occasions, China is piqued by India’s ‘interference’. China
feels that by crossing over into Bhutanese territory at Doka La,

India had ‘trespassed’ over the agreed-upon Sikkim-Tibet border.

e. China is clearly attempting to change the boundary at a certain

sector by unilateral action in contravention to the previously agreed
upon start point of the 1890 convention, which has neither been

ratified nor documented as such.

f. China surprisingly claims that India has entered Bhutan without

Bhutan’s concurrence.

g. Bhutan claims that the road construction activity at Doklam is in
contravention to the China-Bhutan Agreement of 1988 and 1998

wherein peace and tranquillity was to be maintained along the

border.

h. India persistently maintains that any action to violate this status quo
unilaterally is an expression of “hostile intent”.

7. Bhutan’s Security Concern: The constantly hardening stance of China

on the Doklam issue is a matter of grave security concern for Bhutan as

this foothold is a definite precursor to China’s oft-touted claim of large
tracts of Bhutanese territory.

8. India’s Concerns: Past incidents of standoffs between India and China

were in the western and eastern sectors of the India-China boundary.

Disputes in the middle sector are rare. India had agreed to make
meaningful and mutually acceptable adjustments for a ‘package

settlement’ in the western, middle and eastern sectors. The boundary

settlement must be final, covering all sectors of the India-China
boundary.

9. Another matter of concern is that, all across Tibet, China has upgraded

infrastructure that stretches all the way down to Nathu La and right up to
the Doklam plateau. The journey from Lhasa to Yadong on the Chinese