The representatives levelled the charges at a National Assembly session in the capital, Thimphu, the government-run weekly newspaper Kuensel said in its latest edition dated Monday.

"The Chinese government did not adhere to the 1998 understanding signed between Bhutan and China by constructing several roads in our territory," Kuensel quoted a lawmaker of Bhutan's Haa province as saying.

"If the border talks are not held often, there are chances the Chinese might build more roads further into our territory and gradually claim that our land is theirs since they have their roads on our territory," said the lawmaker, who was not named.

The two nations signed a 1998 agreement to "maintain peace and tranquillity" along their 470-kilometer (285-mile) border that would it "fully respect the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bhutan."

The National Assembly is the highest legislative body in the landlocked Buddhist nation which has a population of 650,000 people.

"Bhutan is a small country with limited land so even if we lose a small area it would be a big problem for our future generations and it can also have implications on our country's sovereignty," said a lawmaker from Zhemgang province.

Bhutan's secretary for international boundaries, Dasho Pema Wangchuk, replied that Thimphu had protested to China last July about the road building.

"The next round of border meetings would be held in Beijing and that would be followed by a ministerial level meeting later where all these issues would be followed up," Wangchuk said. He gave no dates for the meeting.

He added the Chinese response was that Bhutan was "over-reacting."

Beijing said the roads were being "legitimately constructed" as part of the economic development of western China, including Tibet and that work had been halted in light of Bhutan's concerns, according to Wangchuk.

Bhutan and China opened diplomatic relations in 1984.

The assembly members also urged the government to deploy more security forces to prevent the illegal entry of people from Tibet who come in search of a prized fungus.

"Every year a few more passes in the border are opened because of melting glaciers and these passes provide easy access to Tibetans who enter our territory," a lawmaker said.

Bhutan cut off traditional trade ties with Tibet after it witnessed a large-scale influx of Tibetan refugees in 1960.

The Bhutanese accuse the Tibetans of crossing the border to collect cordyceps, valued for its alleged aphrodisiac properties. It is also as a medicinal tonic in China and Bhutan.

The fungus' popularity has soared to the point where it now sells for 7,000 dollars a kilogram (2.2 pounds).

"The number of people coming from across the border to collect cordyceps has greatly increased over the last few years," another lawmaker said.

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