India and Bhutan to strengthen socio-economic partnership

New Delhi: Even as Thimphu and Beijing are moving fast to settle the boundary dispute and establish formal diplomatic relations, New Delhi on Monday reaffirmed India’s abiding commitment to its “unique ties of friendship and cooperation” with Bhutan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Bhutanese king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck at his official residence in New Delhi and he reiterated India’s continued and full support to the socio-economic development in the Himalayan Shangri-La.

“India and Bhutan enjoy long-standing and exceptional bilateral ties characterised by utmost trust, goodwill and mutual understanding at all levels,” said a joint statement issued by the two leaders.

Wangchuck is visiting New Delhi just days after Thimphu and Beijing held the 25th round of boundary talks in Beijing on October 23 and 24 and signed an agreement delineating the responsibilities and functions of the Joint Technical Team (JTT) on the delimitation and demarcation of the Bhutan-China boundary. Thimphu and Beijing have also revealed last month that the two sides were discussing establishing formal diplomatic relations.

Wangchuck had last visited New Delhi in April and had a meeting with Modi when India had subtly reminded Bhutan of the intertwined nature of the security concerns and interests of the two nations.

Wangchuck on Monday thanked New Delhi for the timely release of development assistance to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted conclusion of crucial projects under the 12th Five-Year Plan (2018-2023). To take the exemplary bilateral partnership forward, India reiterated the commitment to step up support for Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which was welcomed by Bhutan, the joint statement added.

Modi and Wangchuck agreed to further expand bilateral cooperation on trade, technology, cross-border connectivity, mutual investments, education and people-to-people connections. They also agreed to undertake the Final Location Survey (FLS) of the proposed cross-border rail link connecting Kokrajhar in Assam to Gelephu in Bhutan through support from New Delhi. The two sides noted the successful completion of the Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic (PET) survey of the rail link by Indian Railways. The two sides also agreed to consider establishing a rail link between Banarhat (West Bengal) and Samtse (Bhutan). They agreed to designate Darranga (Assam)/Samdrup Jongkhar (Bhutan) as an immigration checkpost to facilitate the entry and exit of third-country nationals by land route for enhancing connectivity and promoting tourism.

The territorial row between Bhutan and China covers an area of about 764 sq km. China in 2020 staked a claim on the Salting Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Bhutan as part of its territory, a move rejected by Thimphu. Bhutan and China had earlier held 24 rounds of boundary negotiations till August 2016. The negotiations, however, had remained stalled after the stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA in the Doklam Plateau.

The Chinese and the Bhutanese officials, however, had a meeting in Kunming in the southern region of the communist country in April 2021. The meeting led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 14, 2021, for “a three-step roadmap” to resolve the Bhutan-China boundary dispute. They had another meeting in the capital city of the Yunnan province of China from January 10 to 13 this year, when it was agreed to expedite the negotiation. The two sides in August held a meeting of an expert group and constituted a technical team for the demarcation of the boundary. The newly constituted technical team also had its first meeting around the same time.

New Delhi is concerned over the possibility of Thimphu giving up its claim over areas in the vicinity of Doklam in western Bhutan in exchange for Beijing narrowing or giving up its territorial claims in the north-central region of the kingdom.

If China gains control over the entire Doklam Plateau, sans the tri-junction point, as well as the nearby areas, it will get a strategic advantage against India. The PLA will find it easier to conduct military manoeuvres to block the Siliguri Corridor – the narrow stretch of land linking India’s North-East with the rest of the country.

Ever since Thimphu expedited its boundary negotiation with Beijing, New Delhi conveyed that it would expect Bhutan to continue to be sensitive to the security interests of India while negotiating with China.