China, Bhutan hold talks over disputed boundary

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China and Bhutan held bilateral talks over the disputed boundary, Beijing said on Friday.

The country’s Foreign Ministry said the two sides held “frank and constructive discussions” to take forward the implementation of the Three-Step Roadmap.

Participants constituting the 12th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the China-Bhutan Boundary Issues met in Thimphu for two days since Wednesday.

China and Bhutan share 248 miles (about 400 kilometers) long border but do not have diplomatic or economic relations. However, the two nations maintain contact through bilateral visits by their officials.

The two countries are in dispute over around 295 square miles (about 764 square kilometers) of territory in northern and western Bhutan that comprise of Doklam, Sinchulung, Dramana, and Shakhatoe areas.

Beijing and Thimphu, two Himalayan neighbors, had signed a memorandum of understanding on the roadmap in 2021 “to speed up boundary disputes resolution negotiations.”

The ministry said the two sides expressed “satisfaction with the progress made in the implementation of the roadmap.”

“The two sides expressed their confidence in the Three-Step Roadmap and reiterated the importance of increasing the frequency of their meetings to make further progress in its implementation,” the statement added.

China has settled border disputes with at least 12 of its neighbors so far. Border demarcation with India and Bhutan, on the other hand, has yet to be finalized.

China-Bhutanese boundary negotiations began in 1984 and the two sides have held 24 rounds of talks on the issue besides 12 rounds of meetings at the expert group level.

It was during the 10th expert group meeting in Kunming City of China, in April 2021 that the two sides agreed on the Three-Step Roadmap that will “build on the 1988 Guiding Principles and help to expedite the ongoing boundary negotiations.”