Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande on Friday arrived in Bhutan on a two-day visit to hold talks with top civilian and military authorities in the Himalayan kingdom.
“This visit will further enhance the unique and time-tested bilateral relationship, characterized by utmost trust, goodwill, and mutual understanding,” the Indian Army said in a statement.
General Pande will have an “audience with the King and the Fourth King,” besides having extensive discussions with his counterpart in the Royal Bhutan Army. The Bhutanese king is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and still holds power in guiding the country’s foreign policy.
The visit comes days after media reports suggested China had built a village east of Doklam, which reportedly lies inside Bhutanese territory.
India's Ministry of External Affairs said that New Delhi is keeping constant watch on all developments having a bearing on national security and is taking necessary measures to safeguard its interests.
However, neither Bhutan nor India confirmed the claims made based on some private satellite images.
Doklam is a tri-junction north of India’s Siliguri corridor, popularly known as the Chicken’s Neck due to the structure of the area.
The Chicken’s Neck is a 14-17 km wide area between Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, and Nepal. Strategists say that domination of the Doklam Plateau by a rival poses a threat to India’s security interests.
In the 2017, the Indian Army disrupted the infrastructure works of PLA troops near Doklam, resulting in a 73-day stand-off between the two Asian giants.
China also has border disputes with Bhutan, and the two countries have held 24 rounds of talks to settle the boundary issues.