Sovereignty and sensitivity

Sovereignty and sensitivity

News:

1. The National Assembly of Bhutan was dissolved and an interim government was appointed recently

Important facts:

2. The Border Roads Organisation helps in building Bhutanese roads under Project Dantak .
3. Citizens were worried that this was an attempt by India to impose its flag on their countryside.
4. In April last year, the Department of Roads had to remove a board which read “Dantak welcomes you to Bhutan” at the Paro international airport.
5. And on the Thimphu-Phuentsholing arterial highway, another board that credited the “Government of India” had to be painted over.
6. In the recent case, which was covered by the national weekly The Bhutanese, the Minister for Public Works stepped in, and the stickers were changed to blue and white.
7. The incident was a blip in India- Bhutan relations, but it is a clear indicator of heightened sensitivities in the Himalayan kingdom as it heads to its third general election.
8. The National Assembly of Bhutan was dissolved and an interim government was appointed this month.
9. This election comes after the 73-day India-China stand-off in 2017 in the Bhutan-claimed area of Dokhlam.

The China factor:

• The biggest issue between India and Bhutan will remain how to deal with China.
• The Doklam crisis has brought home many realities for the Bhutanese establishment such as:
• Doklam, which has long been discussed as part of a possible “package solution” to the Bhutan-China border dispute, could become a point of India-China conflagration, with Bhutan becoming a hapless spectator in the middle — again.
• Experts point out that China’s actions since last June, to build a permanent military presence above the stand-off point, mean that Bhutan has a much reduced advantage in any forthcoming negotiations on the issue.

Way ahead:

• India must step lightly and thoughtfully around the upcoming election.
• PM Modi is expected to visit Thimphu once a new government is in place, and Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is expected for a state visit this year too. This is a welcome step from both sides.
• Need to revive India’s Bhutan policy and address several issues that have come up in the past few years such as hydropower projects where delays in constructing and commissioning in Bhutan by Indian companies have led to the country’s burgeoning national debt.
• Although the government agreed to raise tariffs for the original hydropower plant in Chukha (by about 30 paisa per unit) in February this year, other tariffs will need to be renegotiated too.
• India also needs to focus on policing cross-border trade better.
• The goods and services tax still hurts Bhutanese exporters, and demonetisation has left lasting scars on the banking system.