NEW DELHI: King of Bhutan, Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, will be on a state visit to Delhi for three days from Monday.
During his visit, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar.
"The visit would provide an opportunity for both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation," said the MEA.
The visit comes at a time when India appears miffed with the comments Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lotay Tshering, made in an interview he gave to a Belgian newspaper Le Libre, wherein he said that China is an equal stakeholder in the boundary issue.
Tshering denied China encroaching on 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.
"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,’’ PM Tshering had said in the interview.
Meanwhile, eyebrows are being raised in India over the China-Bhutan talks over the status of the Doklam trijunction where Bhutan and China are engaged in talks to settle the disputes.
The Doklam Plateau is at a trijunction of India, Bhutan and China. It may be recalled that in 2017 Chinese army had begun to build 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 staring into India – granting them easier access.
Meanwhile, after Doklam India’s relations with China have been at a low since the Galwan incident happened in 2020 and senior leaders have not minced their words to share their disapproval – whether it was by External Affairs Minister, Dr Jaishankar, or NSA Ajit Doval recently.
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 superiority in adjacent areas.’’ This was an obvious reference to China.
Sources point out that during interactions that the King has with the senior leadership in India, this issue could be brought up for discussion.
India is Bhutan’s largest trading partner and also one of the first countries to begin trade in the Indian rupee. India also trains Bhutanese diplomats along with its trainees. Will all that India does for Bhutan, there is going to be every reason for India to seek clarity from Bhutan on its stance with China – especially in the backdrop of the statements that the Bhutanese PM has through the interview recently.
