Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane on Monday spoke to his Bhutan Army Chief Batoo Tshering on the phone. This news comes after reports that China has built a village inside Bhutanese territory.
“General MM Naravane #COAS had telephonic interaction with Lt Gen Batoo Tshering #ChiefOperationsOfficer of the Royal Bhutan Army #RBA and discussed issues of bilateral defence cooperation,” the publicity wing of the Indian Army tweeted.
The significance of this conversation between the army chiefs of the two nations is that it took place after reports of China pushing into the border further into Bhutanese territory. The telephonic conversation also follows China and Bhutan last month discussing a roadmap to speed up their boundary talks and agreeing to continue to maintain peace and tranquility along their border pending the final settlement of their dispute, according to news reports.
It also follows a PTI report on Friday that said, China has systematically pumped in money for nearly a decade to build villages of modern prosperity all along the 4,000 Km border of Tibet, a large part of which aligns with the disputed boundary with India. The objective of building the villages is believed to be for bolstering China’s border claims.
