NEW DELHI: King of Bhutan, Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, will be on a three-day state visit to New Delhi from Monday and he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
The King’s visit comes at a time when India appears miffed with Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering’s comment in an interview to Belgian newspaper Le Libre that China is an equal stakeholder in the boundary issue. “Prime Minister Tshering also denied China encroaching any territory of Bhutan, refuting earlier reports that China had constructed villages inside Bhutan. He also suggested that India, Bhutan and China collectively resolve the border dispute. This hasn’t gone down well in India,’’ said a source.
“A lot of information is circulating about Chinese facilities in Bhutan. However, we are not making a big deal about it as they are not in Bhutan. This is an international border and we know exactly what belongs to us,’’ Tshering said in the interview. Eyebrows are raised in India over the China-Bhutan talks over the status of the Doklam trijunction.
Bhutan and China are engaged in talks to settle the dispute. The Doklam plateau is at a trijunction of India, Bhutan and China. It may be recalled that in 2017 the Chinese Army began building a road in the area which led to a response from the Indian Army and an extended stand-off between the two nations. If Bhutan was to cede their area in Doklam to China, it would have China literally staring at India.
After Doklam, India’s relations with China have been at a low. Then the Galwan incident happened in 2020 and senior leaders have not minced their words to share their disapproval, be it External Affairs Minister Jaishankar or NSA Ajit Doval. Two days back at the SCO (Shanghai Corporation Organisation), National Security Advisor (NSA) Meet, NSA Ajit Doval had stated: “It is my view that the goals and vision of the SCO as enshrined in its Charter, calls upon member states to have mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity of states and inviolability of state borders – non-use of force or threat international relations and seeking no unilateral military superiortiy in adjacent areas.’’ The comment is viewed as an obvious reference to China. Sources said during the course of interaction the King will have with the senior leadership in India this issue could be brought up for discussion.
