India's main opposition party Congress on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged construction of four new villages by China on territory currently under the sovereignty of Bhutan.
The four Chinese villages were allegedly built between May and Novermber of this year, near the Doklam Plateau, which lies at the trilateral junction of India, China, and Bhutan.
As per satellite images tweeted out by an open intelligence source, the new villages are spread over an area of roughly 100 square kilometres.
The Doklam Plateau was also the site of a military standoff between Indian troops and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 2017.
During the episode, Indian troops crossed over into Bhutanese territory and prevented Chinese workers from constructing a new road, as it could have potentially provided PLA troops with access to the nearby Jhampheri Ridge.
This ridge overlooks India's "chicken-neck" corridor, a narrow strip of crucial land that connects India's western states to the northeast of the country.
According to a 1949 treaty between Bhutan and India, New Delhi has to guide its landlocked Himalayan neighbour (Bhutan) on matters of foreign policy and defence. While Bhutan enjoys diplomatic ties with 54 nations, it still hasn't established formal relations with China.
Congress spokesperson Professor Gourav Vallabh said at a press conference on Thursday that the "new construction on Bhutanese soil is particularly worrying" for India, since it has "historically advised Bhutan on its foreign relations policy and continues to train its armed forces".
Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala remarked that the purported villages represented a "blow to India's national security".
He further wondered if the alleged Chinese villages had been built as part of the China-Bhutan Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the "three-step roadmap for expediting boundary negotiations".
Bhutan's Foreign Minister Lyonpo Tandi Dorji and China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Jianghao signed the MoU in a virtual ceremony on 14 October. However, the two did hold a meeting in the Chinese city of Kunming in April of this year, before they signed the boundary negotiation pact.
China, which shares a 477-kilometre border with Bhutan, claims more than 700 kilometres of Bhutanese territory.
Chinese observers have often blamed New Delhi for prolonging the Bhutan-China dispute by exerting its "special influence" over Thimpu.
India Has a 'Moral Responsibility' to Protect Bhutan, Says Indian Expert
Seshadri Vasan, the head of the Indian think tank Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S) told Sputnik that New Delhi has a "moral responsibility" to protect its smaller eastern neighbour from China's "pressure tactics" due to the 1949 treaty between India and Bhutan.
"If these satellite images are accurate, then the Indian leadership must do everything it takes to take up the matter with Bhutan as well as China", says Vasan.
"Unless, of course, Bhutan tells India that it no longer needs its support, especially after the signing of the MoU. But, so far, I am not aware of Thimpu having communicated this officially or privately to New Delhi", adds Vasan.
He underlines that the alleged Chinese villages near the Doklam Plateau present a significant threat to India.
"Their presence at the strategic heights overlooking India's Chicken-neck corridor would allow it greater surveillance and offensive capabilities in case of a potential crisis. I am sure India's military commanders in the region will take the appropriate steps", Vasan explains.
Vasan further claims that Beijing has been building up "dual use" civilian-military villages all along its border with China, not ruling out the presence of these villages on the Bhutan border.
Last month, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Indian Army's Eastern Command, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, claimed that Beijing was building up "dual use" villages along its eastern frontier with India, which could serve as military garrisons for the PLA in case of a potential military crisis.