{"id":236898,"date":"2023-04-08T20:49:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-08T15:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=236898"},"modified":"2023-04-10T13:14:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T07:44:00","slug":"spotlight-again-on-doklam-india-bhutan-relationship-and-why-china-remains-the-dragon-in-the-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/spotlight-again-on-doklam-india-bhutan-relationship-and-why-china-remains-the-dragon-in-the-room\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight again on Doklam: India-Bhutan relationship and why China remains the dragon in the room"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cSpotlight again on Doklam: India-Bhutan relationship and why China remains the dragon in the room\u201d <\/strong>published in the \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d <\/strong>on 8th April 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS2- Bilateral groupings and agreements<\/p>\n

Relevance<\/strong>– India and Bhutan relationship<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– Recently, Bhutan\u2019s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck visited India.<\/p>\n

What are recent developments in Bhutan-China relations?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In an interview, Prime Minister Tshering said Bhutan and China had come to understand each other and were close to resolving their boundary disputes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tshering denied there were Chinese incursions <\/strong>in Bhutan\u2019s territory. There exist no Chinese installations<\/strong> in Bhutan and there is no intrusion<\/strong> in the Bhutan territory.<\/p>\n

As per Bhutan PM, Doklam is a junction point<\/strong> between India, China, and Bhutan. It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem. There are three equal countries, each counting for a third. As soon as the other two parties are also ready, Bhutan is ready to discuss the border dispute.<\/p>\n

The two sides have agreed to simultaneously push forward the implementation of all the steps of the Three-Step Roadmap.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201cThree-Step Roadmap for Expediting the China-Bhutan Boundary Negotiations<\/strong>\u201d refers to an agreement reached between the two countries in April 2021.<\/p>\n

The two sides have also agreed to increase the frequency of the Expert Group Meetings<\/strong> and to keep contact through diplomatic channels.<\/p>\n

In January, Bhutan and China had held talks in Kunming<\/strong> as part of an ongoing dialogue on the border issue.<\/p>\n

Kunming talks<\/strong> focussed on Doklam and areas near the India-Bhutan-China trijunction<\/strong> in the west, and the Jakarlung and Pasamlung pasturelands<\/strong> in the north.<\/p>\n

What is the Indian position on Bhutan and Doklam issue?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra reiterated that Tshering had not said anything different from India\u2019s own position on this issue.<\/p>\n

S Jaishankar in 2017-18\u00a0 referred to the \u201cCommon Understanding\u201d<\/strong> reached between the Special Representatives<\/strong> of New Delhi and Beijing. As per it, trijunction boundary points <\/strong>would be finalised in consultation with those third countries.<\/p>\n

India holds that the 2017 Chinese actions in Doklam amounted to an attempt to change the Bhutan-China border unilaterally<\/strong>. Therefore, it violated two agreements with Bhutan in 1988 and 1998.<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Delhi has always held that an agreement between Bhutan and China is the sovereign decision<\/strong> of the two counties. Bhutan is mindful of Indian concerns.<\/p>\n

There is close consultation and coordination<\/strong> between the two sides on security issues of mutual interest. This is also written into the 2007 Treaty of Friendship<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What is the Chinese stand on Doklam?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

China wants to move the tri junction point <\/strong>from Batang La further south to Gyomochen<\/strong>. It is a violation of the 2012 agreement<\/strong> with India. Control of this area would give China a strategic advantage <\/strong>over India. it will bring China closer to the \u201cchicken\u2019s neck\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Beijing wants a land swap<\/strong> with China. It wants to get Doklam in exchange for concessions on disputed territory in the north.<\/p>\n

China looks at Bhutan as a pressure point<\/strong> on India. Beijing\u2019s renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh, and its \u201cfreeze\u201d on the visas of two Indian journalists, came during the King\u2019s visit to India.<\/p>\n

What are the concerns of India on recent developments in Bhutan and China relations?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A China-Bhutan agreement on the boundary, especially if it includes Doklam, would have direct and immediate implications<\/strong> for India\u2019s security.<\/p>\n

Tshering\u2019s denial of Chinese incursions in Bhutanese territory has surprised New Delhi. Chinese villages and infrastructure have come up in Doklam.<\/p>\n

For more readings<\/strong>– https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/india-bhutan-relations-and-its-significance<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cSpotlight again on Doklam: India-Bhutan relationship and why China remains the dragon in the room\u201d published in the \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 8th April 2023. Syllabus: GS2- Bilateral groupings and agreements Relevance– India and Bhutan relationship News– Recently, Bhutan\u2019s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck visited India. What… Continue reading Spotlight again on Doklam: India-Bhutan relationship and why China remains the dragon in the room<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[11383,212,11382,10500],"class_list":["post-236898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-doklam-conflict","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-india-bhutan-relations","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":22,"cached_at":1698387558,"cached_date":1698470391},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}