Vantage | India’s two big problems with China-Bhutan border talks

China is not keen on solving the India border, but elsewhere it’s very keen. We are talking about Bhutan. Like with India, it’s a disputed border but maybe not for long.

On Monday, Bhutan’s foreign minister visited Beijing and met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. And what did they discuss? The border. Wang Yi asked Bhutan to ‘seize the moment’ to settle the border as soon as possible. He also asked Bhutan to establish formal diplomatic relations with China. And how did Bhutan respond? Their foreign minister agreed to an early settlement. He also supported the idea of formal diplomatic relations. Now, why is all this significant? The border issue dates back to the 1940s and 50s. Bhutan and Tibet always had a border, but China did not recognise that. So, after annexing Tibet, China laid claims to land controlled by Bhutan. India’s big worry That includes the region called Doklam. Doklam is located at the junction between China, Bhutan and India. Right now, Bhutan controls it and India recognises Bhutan’s sovereignty over Doklam but China does not. In 2017, China made moves. Its army, the PLA tried to build a road on the Bhutanese side and that’s when India intervened. What followed was the Doklam stand-off. Indian and Chinese soldiers faced off for close to two months. In the end, Beijing backed down but the issue was never resolved. And now, Doklam is on the table again. Bhutan and China will have to exchange land to settle their border. India fears this exchange could involve Doklam. And that’s a serious issue. Doklam is located close to India’s Siliguri corridor. It’s the link between mainland India and the Northeast. You cut that off, and you cut off the Northeast. So, having PLA troops in Doklam is a problem. It was a worry in 2017, it remains a worry today. Now, Bhutan hasn’t confirmed whether Doklam is on the table but the possibility itself is worrying. It’s not just the border So, that’s the border issue. The second is about diplomatic relations. Again, it’s an old one. Bhutan does not have formal relations with the P5 - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. There are exchanges and visits but no formal diplomatic relations, meaning there is no embassy. Bhutan says it’s all about staying away from big power politics. You let one country open an embassy, everyone will line up. Historically, Bhutan has tried to prevent that, and their preferred partner was India. Their security, their foreign policy, all of it was decided in partnership with India. But now, Bhutan is making a U-turn. They are talking about formal relations with China. The question is: where does this leave India? In a spot of bother. There will be questions about New Delhi’s role in these talks. For starters, is India even at the table? Is Doklam on the agenda? Is Bhutan consulting India? And has India signed off on Bhutan’s border package? Some of these questions were put to Bhutan’s prime minister recently. His response was: “We need to ensure we are considering interests of all the parties, meaning India and China… it will be in Bhutan’s interest to make sure both the parties are happy with the decisions we make… we obviously do not want to solve one problem and give birth to another problem.” So, Bhutan is mindful of India’s interests. Still, New Delhi will not be happy, because Bhutan was always India’s backyard. So, talks with China should have been on India’s terms. In the past, that was always the case. But right now, it doesn’t seem so and that leaves India in a tricky spot. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.