India's concern has been raised in the virtual meeting of the foreign ministers of Bhutan and China on 14 October. In this meeting, a three-step road map agreement has been signed to resolve the border disputes that have been going on for many years between the two countries. India may not have given any detailed response to this agreement, but due to the ongoing tension with China, it is not in a position to ignore this development. After all, what is the big concern of India? How are the relations between India and Bhutan? Is China trying to create a rift in the relations between India and Bhutan?
China came between India-Bhutan relations
1- Prof. Harsh V Pant said that the special thing is that this agreement between the two countries has come after four years of a 73-day standoff between the armies of India and China at Doklam Tri Junction. The standoff in Doklam started when China tried to build a road in an area that was claimed by Bhutan. After the Doklam incident, China's expansionist policy has posed challenges related to border security for both countries.
2- Prof. Pant says that in fact, China shares a border with 14 countries. Among them, India and Bhutan are countries with which China's border dispute is still going on. In the year 2017, the Doklam dispute between India and China was the result of this border dispute. Before this agreement, there was no diplomatic relationship between Bhutan and China, whereas India-Bhutan has very close relations. China's intention behind this agreement does not seem right. He wants to create a gap between Bhutan and India. China has never liked the close friendship between India and Bhutan.
3- He said that the geographical position of Bhutan between China and India is very special. Bhutan can also be called the buffer zone between China and India. The importance of Bhutan to India is more because of its geographical location. Bhutan's importance to India increased after China annexed Tibet in 1951. Bhutan is bordered by Arunachal Pradesh in the west of India, Assam in the southeast, and Darjeeling district in West Bengal. Visa is not required to enter the border of both countries.
What is the big challenge for India?
1- After the end of the monarchy in Bhutan, democratic Bhutan is striving for an independent foreign policy of its own. In this sequence, apart from close relations with India, it is also engaged in balancing with other powers including China. However, given the concern of Indian interests, he has been avoiding the attraction of China.
2- China is indeed keen to establish formal political and economic relations with Bhutan and to some extent, the people of Bhutan are also supporting trade and diplomatic relations with China. Due to this, some other challenges may arise in front of India in the coming time.
3- Today, India needs to act strongly to address Bhutan's concerns, as increasing Chinese interference in Bhutan threatens to undermine the foundation of strong bilateral relations between India and Bhutan. The political stability of Bhutan is very important for India's strategic and diplomatic strategy.
Indian aid to Bhutan
The economy of Bhutan, a country with a population of eight million, is very small. It is largely dependent on exports to India. Between 2000 and 2017, Bhutan received about $4.7 billion in aid from India, which was the largest share of India's total foreign aid.
Project Dantak, started by the Border Roads Organization of India in the year 1961, is the biggest project undertaken for nation-building on foreign soil. It was with Indian assistance that Bhutan's third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, had laid the foundation of the Bhutan Planning Commission and since then India has been providing financial assistance for the plans going on in Bhutan so that the development of Bhutan does not stop due to lack of resources.
So far, the Government of India has supported the construction of three hydroelectric projects totaling 1416 MW in Bhutan and these projects are in operation and exporting power to India.
India is the largest trading partner of Bhutan. In the year 2018, the total bilateral trade between the two countries stood at Rs 9228 crore. In this, the export from India to Bhutan has recorded at Rs.6011 crore and the export from Bhutan to India was Rs.3217 crore.
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