Why increasing border talks between Bhutan and China are a cause for alarm in India

Away from the theatre of the Israel-Hamas war in West Asia and far away from Canada whose government’s soft stand towards the Khalistanis is troubling India, a new development in Bhutan’s foreign relations has become India’s latest worry due to its far-reaching implications for India’s security. Bhutan, a small Kingdom tucked away in the lap of the mighty Himalayas has been taking baby steps towards global outreach for a long time now. It once was known for its closed approach to global politics where it did not even maintain diplomatic relations with the permanent five countries of the UN Security Council. Its stand was informed by a need to stay clear from power politics as Bhutan remained introverted and closed to the world around it. But all that had started to change in the recent years. Since the beginning of the current century, Bhutan has been focussing on forging new diplomatic connections. By 2013, it had managed to establish a diplomatic relationship with as many as 53 countries. Among all the new foreign relations that Bhutan is sealing, its equation with China is agonising India a lot. Early this week, Bhutan’s foreign minister Tandi Dorji visited Beijing. There he met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi as well as Vice President of China Han Zheng. The visit was focussed on boundary talks between the two countries and also saw the signing of an agreement over the functioning of a Joint Technical Team for the same. Both countries also agreed to expedite the boundary demarcation process as well as establish formal diplomatic ties with each other. The settlement of the boundary issue between Bhutan and China will leave India as the only country out of China’s 12 neighbours with which Beijing has still not settled the boundary dispute. The possible establishment of diplomatic relations between Bhutan and China is also a worrying signal for India but it is the boundary dispute settlement that will have the most far-reaching implications for Indian security. The boundary dispute between Bhutan and China goes back to the 1950s when China annexed Tibet and both countries became immediate neighbours. Unlike the relationship between autonomous Tibet and Bhutan where the border was not demarcated, China never agreed to the boundary that it inherited after its annexation of Tibet. It in fact seized control of eight Bhutanese conclaves in Tibet during its military campaign in 1959. Due to China’s belligerence and its tendency to acquire territory by force, Bhutan severed its ties with China-controlled Tibet and maintained a very sharp distance from Beijing diplomatically. Mao Zedong’s foreign policy strategy of considering Bhutan along with Nepal as one of the five fingers of Tibet, China’s right-hand palm was like a nightmare for the Bhutanese. Since then, China has conducted multiple incursions into Bhutan’s territories including in 1967, 1979, 1983 and 2017. China claims around 764 sq km of Bhutanese territory in the northern and western areas. This includes Jakarlung and Pasamlung areas in north Bhutan and the Doklam plateau in Western Bhutan. China’s pressurising tactics of using military force and publishing maps with outrageous claims had been able to bring Bhutan to the negotiating table in the past. The two countries started negotiating the border dispute on an annual basis in 1984. They also signed an agreement to maintain peace at the border in 1998. Since 1984, they have held 24 rounds of boundary talks and the one that was held earlier this week marks the 25th round of boundary talks between them. Now the question is that if boundary talks are progressing at a fast pace between China and Bhutan then why does it worry India so much? Well, the entire bone of contention is the Doklam plateau. Doklam area is a trijunction point between India, China and Bhutan. It is a part of the Bhutanese territory but China claims it as an extension of its Chumbi Valley. China has made multiple claims on the area and in 2017, it even started construction of a road in the mountainous region. It was attempting to create infrastructure in the region in order to usurp the territory during border settlement at a later date. In fact, satellite imagery has proven how China created high-tech villages in the area. India’s worries regarding China acquiring control of Doklam stems from the fact that this plateau overlooks the strategic Siliguri corridor also known as the Chicken’s Neck which not only connects mainland India to its own northeastern states but also serves as an important international gateway by linking India with countries such as Myanmar and even Tibet. It was for this reason that India immediately pressed its military into action in 2017 in order to retaliate against China’s act of constructing a road in the area. The resultant stand-off had lasted for more than 70 days with India being successful in thwarting China from constructing the road. This time, however, India’s tensions are even more profound. China’s pressurising tactics have left little choice for Bhutan. In 2020, China sprung a surprise when it made an entirely new claim out of the blue over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary situated in Eastern Bhutan. It was an attempt by China to put more pressure on Bhutan to admit the claims that China is making under the usual boundary dispute. India’s key worry is that China may push Bhutan so much to the edge that it will be forced to accept a swap deal where China will relinquish its claims in the north in exchange for control over the Doklam plateau. A precedent for this actually exists because in 1998, China had made a similar offer to Bhutan which it had not accepted at that time. It is interesting to note that Beijing is keen to settle the boundary dispute with Bhutan but it has not shown a similar zeal towards settling its boundary dispute with India. This shows that the entire plan of China is to keep India on tenterhooks. Firstly, Beijing doesn’t want to deliberately delay settling of boundary dispute with India because a settled boundary will provide India with much relief and free up its energy to focus on its rise. In contrast, an unsettled boundary will keep a check on India’s power. Secondly, any settlement of the boundary issue with Bhutan which involves China getting control over Doklam will be the best blessing for Beijing against India in this century. It will end up making India severely vulnerable by threatening its access to its own northeast in the situation of a military conflict. It is in this context that any development in Bhutan-China relations must be observed. Although India consistently points towards a 2012 understanding reached between China and India that the Bhutan-China boundary dispute will not include discussions over Doklam. Provided China’s record of honouring agreements that it has signed up for in the past, India has all the reasons to be concerned about the direction which Bhutan-China boundary negotiation will take. The author is a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She writes on India’s foreign policy. 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.