Amid border talks with China, why Bhutan king’s visit to India is significant

Bhutan king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck begins his eight-day official visit to India on Friday (3 November). He is meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and senior officials of the Indian government during the visit, according to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). “India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterised by understanding and mutual trust. The visit would provide an opportunity to both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the exemplary bilateral partnership, across diverse sectors,” the statement read. King Wangchuck, who will reportedly be accompanied by Queen Jetsun Pema and their two sons, will also travel to Assam and Maharashtra during his official visit. Why is the Bhutanese monarch’s India visit significant? Let’s take a closer look.

A glimpse at India’s relations with Bhutan India and Bhutan have shared a cordial friendship for years. This “special relationship” is governed by the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 1949, which was later updated in 2007. As per the MEA, this treaty is the “basic framework” of India and Bhutan’s relations. It lays emphasis on “perpetual peace and friendship, free trade and commerce, and equal justice to each other’s citizens” between India and the Himalayan kingdom, reported ANI. Article 2 of the treaty, which earlier stated that Bhutan would be guided by India “in regard to its external relations”, was revised in 2007. It now says that the two sides will cooperate “closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests”. The article also states that neither the Bhutanese government nor its Indian counterpart shall allow the use of its territory for “activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other”, as per Deccan Herald (DH). India and Bhutan had established formal diplomatic relations in 1968. [caption id=“attachment_13337782” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Bhutan king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be accompanied by Queen Jetsun Pema on his India visit. Reuters File Photo[/caption] As Bhutan’s foreign ministry mentioned, India is not only Thimphu’s “main development partner” but also its top trade partner. When the Bhutanese monarch visited India in April this year, the two countries decided to enhance cooperation in several areas such as hydropower, trade and space. According to a Financial Express report, measures to facilitate sustainable trade, while also exploring collaboration on start-ups, STEM education, and space would be on the agenda during the Bhutan king’s visit on Friday.

King of #Bhutan to visit India from November 3 to 10.

In an official statement, EAM said that the King of Bhutan will meet PM @narendramodi during the visit. @MEAIndia | @IndianDiplomacy | @Indiainbhutan pic.twitter.com/2SHXxdKlh8

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) November 2, 2023

Bhutan’s border talks with China The monarch’s trip to India comes weeks after Bhutan and China held the 25th round of boundary talks in Bejing. A delegation led by Bhutanese foreign minister Tandi Dorji met China’s foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong on 24 October where the two sides signed a cooperation agreement on “Responsibilities and Functions of the Joint Technical Team (JTT) on the Delimitation and Demarcation of the Bhutan-China Boundary”, as per a joint statement. In a separate meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on 23 October, Dorji said Thimphu was ready to conclude the boundary negotiations and ramp up the process to set up diplomatic ties with China. Bhutan does not have diplomatic relations with China currently. The Himalayan nation has also held 13 Expert Group Meetings (EGMs) so far with China to resolve the border dispute, of which three were conducted this year alone. In the last meeting in August, the countries decided to expedite steps to implement the “three-step roadmap” agreed upon in October 2021 to resolve the border issue. They also set up a joint technical team which held its first meeting around the time. Bhutan and China initiated boundary talks in 1984 and have since focused on mainly three disputed areas — Jakarlung and Pasamlung areas in north Bhutan, and the Doklam area in west Bhutan. A source recently told Newsweek that the joint technical team from Bhutan and China will work on “demarcating” the disputed territories that are to be “exchanged on the ground”. “Bhutan can’t establish direct diplomatic ties with Beijing until the border dispute is resolved,” the source added. India and Bhutan are also the only two countries with which Beijing is yet to resolve its boundary disputes. Why these boundary talks matter to India Bhutan’s border talks with China hold strategic and security interests for New Delhi. The Doklam plateau, which India considers an undisputed territory of Bhutan, is of strategic importance because of its proximity to Siliguri Corridor. Also known as Chicken’s Neck, the Siliguri Corridor is a 22km stretch connecting the Indian mainland to the Northeast. It also links India with Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. There are concerns in New Delhi that a border deal between Thimphu and Beijing could include swapping Doklam – located close to the tri-junction between India, Bhutan and China – for disputed territories in the north. This trijunction point lies at a spot called Batang La. China wants to shift this point about 7 km south of Batang La to a peak called Mount Gipmochi. However, New Delhi is opposed to the move as that would mean the entire Doklam plateau would be under Beijing’s control. With China pushing Bhutan to establish diplomatic ties and the two countries moving closer to settling their decades-old boundary dispute, India is wary and monitoring the developments closely. [caption id=“attachment_13337892” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck pays tribute during a visit to the Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat in New Delhi in April 2023. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Speaking to South China Morning Post (SCMP), Jagannath Panda, head of the Stockholm Centre for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs at the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Sweden, said the warming of ties between China and Bhutan was “a severe strategic setback” to India’s Himalayan security undertaking. Moreover, Bhutan will need to change its policy of not having formal diplomatic ties with any permanent United Nations Security Council members if it wants to establish diplomatic relations with China. Robert Barnett, founder and former director of Columbia University’s modern Tibetan studies programme, told SCMP in October, “So far I think we have not seen any serious indications that India is unhappy with Bhutan’s moves on this issue (securing a border deal with China), and it seems unlikely that Bhutan would act without having support for its plans from India,” he said. “But I think it’s clear that the Chinese side stands to gain from any flux or uncertainty in relations between India and the other Himalayan states. When China decided to resort to the exceptionally heavy pressure tactics it is using on Bhutan, it must have been aware that this could unsettle the existing alliances in the region, and perhaps that is its aim.” With inputs from agencies