![]() Privately, Indian officials are deeply sceptical about the optimism displayed by Tshering, saying that it is extremely unlikely that such a protracted border dispute will be settled in a few more meetings unless, of course, Bhutan is willing to make sweeping concessions to China. “After one or two more meetings, we will probably be able to draw a dividing line,” he said. It is these talks that Tshering referred to in his interview, saying a Bhutanese delegation visited China in February and Bhutan is now awaiting the arrival of a Chinese technical team. The two sides have also held about a dozen rounds of talks at an expert group meeting (EGM) and decided to push forward the three-step roadmap. Though Bhutan began negotiations with China to address the boundary dispute in 1984, with the efforts initially led by the Bhutanese embassy in New Delhi, and 24 rounds of talks were held till 2016, the Doklam standoff gave fresh impetus to Bhutan’s attempts to move forward with the matter.įollowing disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Bhutan and China signed an agreement on a “Three-Step Roadmap for Expediting the Bhutan-China Boundary Negotiations” in October 2021. ![]() The tensions generated by the standoff coincided with a growing feeling within Bhutan’s official circles and the public that the tiny Himalayan country’s foreign and security policies were too closely aligned with India, and might actually hamper Thimpu’s efforts to settle the 477-km disputed border with China. At the time, India said its actions were taken in coordination with the Bhutan government. The Doklam standoff was triggered when Indian troops prevented Chinese workers backed by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers from building a road leading to the strategic Jampheri or Zompelri Ridge in territory claimed by Bhutan. When the treaty was revised in 2007, Article 2 was replaced with more generic text about the two sides cooperating “closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests”. (HT Archive)īut Tshering’s comments on the two other points are perceived in New Delhi as more problematic.Īrticle 2 of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 by India and Bhutan, which the external affairs ministry describes as the “basic framework” of bilateral ties, stated that the Bhutan government would be guided by the advice of its Indian counterpart “in regard to its external relations”. ![]() Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Bhutan, in New Delhi in 2019. Tshering also told The Bhutanese newspaper that he had “said nothing new and there is no change in position”. Privately, Indian officials acknowledge that what Tshering said aligns with New Delhi’s position. ![]() At that time, the external affairs ministry issued a statement saying India and China had reached an agreement in 2012 that tri-junction boundary points involving third countries “will be finalised in consultation with the concerned countries”. On the first point, there appears to be no difference between what Tshering said and the position taken by India amid the 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam during June-August 2017. In an interview with Belgian newspaper La Libre during a visit to Europe, Tshering made three key points – that efforts to resolve the dispute over the strategic Doklam plateau will have to involve Bhutan, China and India, since the feature is located at the tri-junction of the countries, that Bhutan hopes to settle the boundary dispute with China after one or two meetings, and that there are no Chinese intrusions into territory claimed by Bhutan.
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