China has continued its unsanctioned programme of settlement construction across the contested border with Bhutan in the small kingdom’s Himalayan north, according to satellite imagery from September.
The new outposts in Bhutan’s remote Jakarlung Valley, part of the Beyul Khenpajong region, may become permanent Chinese territory after an announcement on a border deal between the two countries expected soon. It is thought that Bhutan, in a major concession, will give up the land that China has seized in both Jakarlung and the neighbouring Menchuma Valley.
