The Heat: China-India border tensions

The Heat

File – In this Wednesday, Oct. 23,2013, file photo, an Indian national flag is flown next to the Chinese national emblem during a welcome ceremony for visiting Indian officals outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China is insisting that India withdraw its troops from a disputed Himalayan plateau before talks can take place to settle the most protracted standoff in recent years between the nuclear-armed neighbors. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

A longstanding border dispute between the Kingdom of Bhutan and China reignited last month when Indian soldiers crossed the China-India border into Chinese-controlled territory.

The standoff at the top of the world, where China, India and Bhutan converge, is over a tiny, but strategically important strip of land controlled by China, and claimed by Bhutan. The region is called Doklam.

When China tried to build a road there last month, India sent troops to block construction, saying it was helping its neighbor, Bhutan.

The stalemate, between unarmed Chinese and Indian troops, has continued since—with China insisting that India should withdraw its troops unconditionally.

For more CGTN’s Su Yuting reports.

So what can be done for the region and the brewing tensions? Tonight’s panel takes on the issue:

  • Song Zhang, chief correspondent with the Shanghai Wen Hui Daily in Washington D.C.
  • Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies
  • Victor Gao, a Chinese international relations expert
  • Sadanand Dhume, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute