Dec 11: The parliamentarians in Thimphu might not be aware, until they are pressurized by an open letter to raise the issue of border dispute with China during the House session that ends today in Thimphu.
The fact is that, despite Bhutan ceded some parts of the upper border to China some years ago the northern neighbor had intruded deep into Bhutanese territory 17 times in 2008 alone.
According to a report presented at the parliament after MPs sought clarification from the government, the Chinese soldiers came up to the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) outpost at Lharigang in the Charithang valley on each occasion.
There was similar intrusion by Chinese soldiers in 2004 which was then resolved through a meeting in New York between the foreign minister of Bhutan and the Chinese foreign minister.
The Chinese have started constructing roads within Bhutanese territory since August this year. For centuries, Bhutan has not been able to resolve border disputes with India and China.
India has stationed over 100,000 military personnel in Bhutan, half near Sino-Bhutan border to stop Chinese incursions.
