China's territorial conquest in neighboring Bhutan has extended onto the sacred ancestral land of the Himalayan kingdom's royal family, according to a new report.
China has slowly nibbled away border territories in northern Bhutan—a country known for its serene landscapes and rich cultural heritage—with the construction of new settlements and road networks seen in recent satellite imagery, Indian news channel NDTV said earlier this month.
The expansion is happening in the culturally significant region of Beyul Khenpajong. "Beyul" originates from the Tibetan language and donates a valley with sacred connotations for Tibetan-origin communities like the Bhutanese.
Bhutan, which has a population of just over 800,000, held a general election last week. The kingdom is officially a constitutional monarchy, in which the royal family still plays a symbolic role in domestic and foreign affairs.
The hidden valleys of Beyul may be sacred spaces for the royal family—fundamental to Bhutanese identity and history—but they are assets to China's leaders, who have long eyed additional territories to gain a strategic advantage against rival India.
It has resulted in a complex mixture of culture, geopolitics, and a small nation's struggle against the ambition of its much larger neighbor.
Newsweek previously reported Chinese construction projections inside Bhutan's territory in the valleys of Jakarlung and Menchuma, where Beijing appeared to be encouraging the use of civilian housing.
The new incursion in Beyul is a short distance away, in the mountainous region to which Bhutan's royal family traces its ancestry. But the Bhutanese government finds itself in a difficult position, seemingly unable to halt the encroachment into its territory despite ongoing negotiations with Beijing over a border deal.
According to NDTV, recent satellite photographs showed large settlements capable of housing hundreds of people. The news channel counted more than 200 single and multi-story buildings, with the construction of three additional enclaves underway—likely suggesting a permanent presence.
Aerial snaps of the same area showed no large-scale construction as late as November 2020, indicating a rapid transformation of Beyul in a relatively short period, the report said.
The implications of the Chinese activities extend beyond the tiny Himalayan nation and are perhaps best viewed through China's increasingly fierce geopolitical rivalry with India, with which Bhutan shares a border as well as a special diplomatic relationship.
The strategic locations of the Chinese settlements along the Himalayan frontier mean New Delhi views these developments with concern, especially considering their proximity to the sensitive Siliguri Corridor, a narrow stretch of land that connects India's northeastern states with the rest of the country.
In 2020, the Indian daily newspaper The Hindu said Beijing had offered Bhutan a "package deal" that would see the return of the Jakarlung and Menchuma valleys if the kingdom agreed to cede strategically important territories in the west, such as the Doklam plateau.
Beijing's maps claim Doklam as part of Chinese territory, and its troops clashed with the Indian Army in a standoff in 2017.
Bhutan's hesitance to give up Doklam and other land is driven in part by sovereignty concerns but also treaty obligations, given its strategic importance to India's national security.
Robert Barnett, a research fellow at SOAS, University of London, told NDTV that Doklam is particularly sensitive for New Delhi.
India's role in the geopolitical tug-of-war is not merely that of a regional power, but also of a nation treaty-bound to support Bhutan, militarily as well as on foreign and defense policy, said Barnett, a Bhutan and Tibet expert.
For outside observers, there continues to be great unease about Bhutan's ability to lean on international norms and laws as it seeks to secure its sovereignty, in addition to its struggle to retain regions that are central to its cultural and ancestral heritage.
The Chinese and Bhutanese foreign ministries did not immediately respond to Newsweek's separate requests for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
