has alarmed China watchers in New Delhi, especially since the strengthening of the Chinese position in this strategic region could increase the vulnerability of the Siliguri Corridor, or the so-called "chicken's neck", a narrow stretch of land connecting India's mainland to the northeastern states.
Doklam was the site of a 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in 2017, when New Delhi intervened to prevent the construction of a road and other facilities that would have given China access to the southern-most part of the plateau. Though front line forces of both sides pulled back from the region at the end of the standoff, satellite images from recent years have shown stepped-up Chinese construction activity around Doklam.
There was no response from India's external affairs ministry for a request for comment on the development.
In recent years, Bhutanese authorities have denied the presence of Chinese settlements on Bhutan's territory, and former prime minister Lotay Tshering created a flutter when he told a Belgian newspaper in 2023 that the Chinese facilities "are not in Bhutan".
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