PM Modi may raise China moves with Bhutan

Modi will convey to the Bhutanese King that any deal should not result in China gaining a strategic advantage against India

Amid concerns that Bhutan is growing closer to China, India is likely to convey to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who arrived in New Delhi on a three-day visit, to be mindful about its security interests while continuing negotiations with Beijing to settle its boundary disputes.

The Narendra Modi government accorded Wangchuk a warm welcome, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar turning up at the airport to receive him.

Though visiting Heads of States are generally received by a Union minister of state, Modi sent Jaishankar, a Cabinet minister, apparently to underscore the uniqueness of the relations between the two nations.

Also read | Bhutan king arrives in India for a two-day visit

Jaishankar’s predecessor late Sushma Swaraj had also personally received Wangchuck, his wife and the royal couple’s then one-and-a-half-year-old son at the Indira Gandhi International Airport weeks after the June-August 2017 stand-off between the Indian Army and Chinese People’s Liberation Army at Doklam Plateau in western Bhutan.

Wangchuck’s current visit to New Delhi comes close on the heels of Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering’s revelation that the negotiations with China to resolve the protracted boundary dispute had reached an advanced stage. He said that a delegation of the Bhutanese government visited Beijing in February, while a “technical team” of the Chinese government might arrive in Thimphu soon. He went on to say that Bhutan and China might be able to demarcate the boundary between the two nations after two or three more meetings.

New Delhi is worried that Thimphu under pressure from Beijing may accept China’s sovereignty on 269 sq km of land in western Bhutan in exchange for China giving up claim on 495 sq km of area in north-central Bhutan.

If China gains control over western Bhutan, it will make it easier for its PLA to conduct military manoeuvres aimed at blocking the ‘Siliguri Corridor’ – the narrow stretch of land linking India’s North-East with the rest of the country.

Also Read: Worry for Delhi: China is eyeing Doklam

Modi, who will host Wangchuck in a formal meeting on Tuesday, is expected to convey to the Bhutanese King that any deal between Thimphu and Beijing should not result in China gaining a strategic advantage against India, sources told DH in New Delhi.

“His (Wangchuck’s) visit will further strengthen the close and unique India-Bhutan partnership,” Jaishankar tweeted after receiving the Bhutanese King at the airport. “His Majesty’s vision for Bhutan’s future and for strengthening the unique partnership with India is deeply appreciated,” he tweeted again after calling on Wangchuck.

Tshering recently indicated in his interview with a newspaper published in Belgium that Thimphu was not trying to reach an agreement with Beijing on the Bhutan-India-China tri-junction boundary point near Doklam Plateau – the scene of the June-August 2017 stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA. His comment was in sync with the 2012 understanding between New Delhi and Beijing that all tri-junction boundary points among India, China and the third countries (like Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal) would be settled through trilateral negotiations.

His comments denying reports about China’s intrusion into Bhutan and construction of villages inside, however, caused unease in New Delhi.

Thimphu and Beijing have been holding negotiations to settle the boundary dispute since 1984, the territorial row between the two nations was limited to 764 sq km of areas – 269 sq km in west and 495 sq kms in north-central Bhutan.

Also read | Bhutan, China cannot agree on anything without India’s OK

China in 2020 also staked claim on the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Bhutan as part of its own territory. Bhutan rejected the claim made by China.

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 People’s Liberation Army in Doklam Plateau.

The Chinese and the Bhutanese officials, however, had a meeting in Kunming in the communist country in April 2021. The meeting led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on October 14, 2021 for “a three-step roadmap” to resolve the Bhutan-China boundary dispute.