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Satellite images appear to show China developing area along disputed border with India and Bhutan
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Satellite images appear to show China developing area along disputed border with India and Bhutan

New satellite images appear to show China has built up an area in the Himalayas along a disputed border with India and Bhutan that was the site of a months-long standoff in 2017.

International

Hong Kong (CNN)New satellite images appear to show China has built up an area in the Himalayas along a disputed border with India and Bhutan that was the site of a months-long standoff in 2017.

According to US-based satellite operator Maxar Technologies, the images, dated October 28, 2020, show "there has clearly been significant construction activity this year all along the Torsa River valley area." In a statement, Maxar added there had also been construction of "new military storage bunkers" near the Doklam area.

Maxar said the images show the newly constructed Pangda Village, on the Bhutanese side of the disputed border, as well as a supply depot in Chinese territory, near the point of a tense dispute between Indian and Chinese forces in 2017.

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In a statement, Bhutan's ambassador to India, Major General Vetsop Namgyel, said "there is no Chinese village inside Bhutan."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to CNN's request for comment about the new images. India's Ministry of External Affairs also did not immediately comment.