Across from Nepal’s Humla District, a small, seemingly insignificant border marker near the village of Hilsa has become a powerful symbol of the region’s shifting geopolitical tides. This remote area, nestled high in the Himalayas, is now a quiet battleground where China is advancing its territorial claims in incremental, persistent ways. Fortifications have sprung up, guarded by high-tech surveillance and armed patrols, forming a stark divide between the barren Nepali side and newly robust Chinese infrastructure just across the border. 

Glass-walled buildings, flood-lit roads, and modern facilities contrast sharply with Nepal’s underdeveloped and rugged terrain, signaling China’s increasing dominance in this remote region. 

A 2021 fact-finding mission led by Nepali officials revealed the extent of China’s incursion, yet the report was buried—kept from public view and even high-ranking Nepali politicians. 

The stark infrastructure imbalance underscores not only the widening gap between the two nations but also China’s deeper motives: to cement its hold on disputed territories and slowly push its influence beyond its borders.

For decades, Nepal provided a haven for Tibetans fleeing Chinese repression. Today, however, the stream of refugees has nearly dried up, with China’s expansion in Tibet and Xinjiang cutting off traditional escape routes and leaving Tibetans more isolated and controlled than ever. The network of surveillance and barriers erected across Tibet serves as a wall, both literally and figuratively, against those seeking refuge in Nepal. This shift is part of a broader trend under Xi Jinping, where hard-line policies in border areas seek to secure and extend China’s reach and control.

While Nepal contends with creeping encroachment, the stakes are even higher for Bhutan. In recent years, China has constructed 22 villages within Bhutan’s traditional borders, claiming about 2% of the small country’s territory. These settlements come complete with roads, military posts, and administrative centers, essentially creating new facts on the ground that are difficult to reverse. 

For Bhutan, this encroachment has presented a grim dilemma: either concede these strategic lands or face the risk of escalating tensions.

Bhutan’s situation mirrors China's gray-zone occupation strategy in the South China Sea, where it has transformed reefs and islands into fortified bases, altering the status quo and asserting control without risking direct conflict. 

These settlements now serve as key outposts in China’s broader strategy to challenge India’s influence in the region. Nowhere is this more evident than in Doklam, a region near the Siliguri Corridor—a vital link between mainland India and its northeastern states. Gaining control over Doklam, where Chinese settlements continue to expand, grant Beijing a significant strategic advantage, weakening India’s regional influence while increasing China’s capacity to exert military and economic pressure.

Areas like Doklam and Beyul Khenpajong, which hold deep cultural and religious significance for Bhutan, are now pawns in China's expansionist game.

Following a tense 73-day standoff between Chinese and Indian troops in 2017, China has not relinquished its Himalayan ambitions. Its construction of infrastructure across the region has continued, edging closer to key terrain that could give Beijing control over the critical corridor. While India remains vigilant in protecting its interests in Doklam, it has largely refrained from addressing China’s other encroachments within Bhutan. This calculated silence avoids conflict with China but leaves Bhutan vulnerable, forcing it to manage these tensions with limited support.

China’s approach in the Himalayas signals a definitive shift toward gray zone aggression—a move that stands in contrast to its prior diplomatic efforts. For countries like Nepal and Bhutan, this change is particularly alarming. As smaller, thinly resourced nations, they lack the military and economic power to counter China’s advances. 

Bhutan, for example, has no standing army capable of resisting China’s land grabs. Instead, both nations are forced into difficult diplomatic positions, often having to balance their relationships with China and India while trying to maintain their sovereignty.

These aggressions are not solely about territory but reflect a broader strategy aimed at expanding China’s influence in South Asia, challenging India’s regional dominance, and extending Beijing’s reach. For the people living in these remote border regions, the consequences are real and immediate—displacement, loss of sovereignty, and the erasure of centuries-old ways of life. 

Despite clear violations of Bhutan’s and Nepal’s territorial integrity, the global community has largely turned a blind eye. The lack of international response to these territorial shifts only serves to encourage further advances with minimal chance of reversal. 

China's Himalayan land grabs may be out of the spotlight, but they reveal an imperialist global power asserting its regional dominance, seemingly one outpost, village or border fence at a time—silently and steadily.