China, Bhutan push forward border alignment discussions

China and Bhutan on Wednesday discussed boundary alignment in areas “where there are no disputes” as the two sides held the 15th expert group meeting on their boundary issues. At the expert group meeting held here, the two sides affirmed the progress made in the China-Bhutan boundary negotiations in recent years, a joint press release issued by both sides after the talks said. They had frank and constructive discussions in a friendly atmosphere on the way forward, it said.

The third meeting of the Joint Technical Team on Delimitation and Demarcation of the China-Bhutan Boundary, held on the sidelines of the expert group meeting, discussed boundary alignment in undisputed areas.

China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations, but maintain contact through visits by officials. While Beijing resolved the boundary disputes with 12 neighbours, India and Bhutan are the only two countries with which China has yet to resolve the border disputes. The two countries have agreed to expedite negotiations to settle their border dispute through a three-step roadmap. Bhutan shares a 477km-long border with China, and the two countries held 25 rounds of talks.