By S. Habib

Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country and extremely backward in South Asia actually blocked-in between India and China. Nepal and Bangladesh are located near Bhutan but do not share a land border. Bhutan has been maintaining a special relationship with India since the treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1949. India being a power in region, had have worked towards making Bhutan understand and to appreciate India’s security concerns and how Bhutan’s security too is linked with India’s. It has been interpreted by people of Bhutan, as limiting the sovereignty of Bhutan. India may like to ensure that whatever changes might come in the future in the political structures in Bhutan, the attitude towards India’s interest would not change.

Bhutan, having a population of apprx. 800,000 people with youth literacy rate of 88.64%, that is savoir-faire with the internet, social media, privatization of traditional media and democracy taking over from the King's rule of the Himalayan Kingdom, is shifting the mood to an educated one and recognized for its happiness index, is fetching a worrisome subject for India as it opens politically, economically, and diplomatically. More than a few young Bhutan students and entrepreneurs are leaving the shores of Bhutan, and when they return to Bhutan, they want to build a good relationship with other countries in addition to India. Good number students had been going for higher studies to India only, but now it is changing. Therefore, Bhutan is now increasing diplomatic footprint with other countries and China as well. For India, it is more worrying because India generally advises Bhutan on its external affairs concerning China.

China is also contributing economic, political, military, and diplomatic assistance to Bhutan like any other South Asia Countries. China tourists visiting Bhutan have increased manifold in the last ten years (except in covid period). Chinese goods afloat in Bhutan markets as well. India attempts to keep her influence in Bhutan and, so far, has not allowed the Chinese embassy to be established in Bhutan. The increasing confidence of Bhutan in China by bits and pieces continues to remain a worrying factor for the Indian government.

Doklam is an area disputed between China and Bhutan located near their tri-junction with India. Unlike China and Bhutan, India has no claim in Doklam but India’s interest is there. China's claim on Doklam is based on the 1890 Convention of Calcutta between China and Britain. Border talks between Thimphu and Beijing has been held since 1984 and they signed the Guiding Principles on the Settlement of Boundary Issues in 1988 and the Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the border areas in 1998.

India is monitoring the Chinese relationship with Bhutan. India has sensitized Bhutan on Chinese border claims in the disputed tri-junction area. However, it is Bhutan's policy not to talk about boundary issues in public. Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry said the construction in subject area is entirely for the improvement of the working and living conditions of the local people.

India and Chinese troops came face-to-face at the Doklam, 2017. Tensions flared up in the subject area. India objected the construction of a road in the area towards the Bhutanese army camp near the Jampheri Ridge. The stand-off began when the Indian troops came to the area because The 100-kilometre stretch of the Doklam plateau is strategically crucial to Delhi.

In 2019 a US-based group financed Eco-Friendly Projects in Bhutan for Sakteng wildlife sanctuary, a diverse ecosystem and home to rare wildlife species in the east near the disputed area. Chinese objected, saying the area was in dispute and funds should not be allocated.  The Chinese government maintains that, from historical evidence, Donglang (Doklam) has always been traditional pasture area for the border inhabitants of Yadong, a county in its autonomous region of Tibet, and that China had exercised good administration over the area. It also says that before the 1960s, if the border inhabitants of Bhutan wanted to herd in Doklam, they needed the consent of the Chinese side and had to pay the grass tax to China.

Bhutan remains the largest recipient of Indian foreign aid, according to the India Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 1949, which was revised in 2007. Remains a strong bond between the two countries, where India continues to provide security and aid. Bhutan so far has maintained its commitment to its foreign policy for decades, respecting the 1949 treaty with India and then supplementing it with more modern demands during the 2007 revision. However, 2007 treaty ended India’s role of advising Bhutan in its foreign policy. Since then, Bhutan has been increasing its diplomatic expansion, mainly intended to diversify and seek economic support and foreign investments. Bhutan continues to establish relationships with other countries. 

Another issue worrying India is introducing the Tourism Levy Bill of Bhutan 2022, which will charge Indian tourists to pay Nu 1,200 or Rs 1200 per night. In addition, they would have to hire a guide and pay to bring their car or hire one. This is in addition to the expense of travelling, hotel bookings etc. Until now, there was no levy on Indians visiting Bhutan who just needed any Identity proof and not even a passport to enter the Country. With the pandemic outbreak, tourist arrivals dropped by 90 per cent in Bhutan in 2020. Interestingly, of the 29,812 tourist arrivals in Bhutan, around 22,298 were from India. India has been a significant contributor to tourist arrivals in Bhutan till now. $200 (Rs 16,000) per person per day for other nationalities. According to the Indian Express newspaper, airfare costs have doubled from Rs 23,000 to over Rs 48,000. There are no group airfare discounts, no discount for students, no royalty waiver, no fam tours," an expert in the travel sector pointed out.

Bhutan analysts, especially new generation scholars, feel that China and India had expansionist and imperialistic outlooks and tended to control other countries. Presently, Bhutan's access to the world is through India. The feeling is that if Bhutan tries to neglect India to go with China that will be suicidal. So, Bhutan wants to engage with China while respecting India's security interests. Bhutan does not want to offend India or China and seeks to limit domestic anti-Chinese or anti-India sentiment that could further complicate border negotiations.

Now India should not lose its face and try to bury the differences early on. Or else, the developing situation has the potential to open a Pandora's Box that can complicate the India-Bhutan bilateral security mechanism and diplomatic and economic relations. India should continue being more sensitive and friendly to Bhutan, diversifying its economic engagements and indirectly playing a role as elder brother in boundary negotiations with China.