With Bhutan and China looking at expeditious resolution of their boundary row, Thimphu has assured New Delhi that India’s “security concerns” are of paramount importance for it. “The new government in Thimpu assured the visiting Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra that Bhutan will under no circumstances ignore the security, strategic and geopolitical concerns which have been raised by India from time to time amid the boundary negotiations between the neighbouring country and Beijing,” diplomatic sources told The Daily Guardian.
The assurance from the Bhutanese side came when Indian foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra called on Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in Thimpu over the past two days, sources said. FS Kwatra was on a three-day trip to Bhutan since Monday, in the first high-level visit from India after the formation of a new government under People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Tshering Tobgay. Tobgay had earlier held the office of PM from 2013-2018.
Kwatra called on the King of Bhutan and discussed ways to further deepen ties of friendship between the two nations. During the meeting with PM Tobgay, Kwatra explored ways to strengthen the existing ties between New Delhi and Thimphu, with the Chinese campaign in mind. “The China factor also figured prominently during the interactions and discussions,” sources told The Daily Guardian. The visiting Indian FS in a subtle way again voiced New Delhi’s concerns over the implications that the boundary negotiations between Bhutan and China could have for India’s security interests in the region, sources said. Kwatra went to Bhutan a day after the new government took office in Thimphu.
Sources told TDG that FS Kwatra also discussed various issues with his Bhutan counterpart, including the matters related to China’s attempt to increase its footprints in the region around Bhutan. The Indian top diplomat emphasized the need to check any such activities which violate territorial integrity of Bhutan or any other country for that matter, sources said.
In addition to this, Kwatra conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings and compliments to Tobgay. Kwatra told PM Tobgay that India is keen to host him as soon as possible. Sources said that the Bhutan PM will be visiting India as his first foreign trip since taking over the post. In fact, Bhutan expedited boundary negotiations with China early 2023. India is concerned over the possibility of Bhutan giving up its claim over areas in the vicinity of Doklam in western Bhutan in exchange for China giving up or diluting its territorial claims in the north-central region of Himalayan Shangri-La.
Bhutan and China held the 25th round of boundary talks in Beijing on October 23-24 and signed an agreement delineating the responsibilities and functions of the Joint Technical Team (JCT) on the delimitation and demarcation of the Bhutan-China boundary. This is all what the Indian side is keeping a close eye on. India is apprehensive about the implications for its security interests in the region due to the same exercise, sources said.