Now Reading: Bhutan walks tightrope balancing China border talks, India ties
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Bhutan walks tightrope balancing China border talks, India ties
Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay's recent visit to India comes amid ongoing border negotiations with China, highlighting the kingdom's careful diplomacy to strengthen ties with New Delhi without provoking Beijing, analysts said.
Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay's recent visit to India comes amid ongoing border negotiations with China, highlighting the kingdom's careful diplomacy to strengthen ties with New Delhi without provoking Beijing, analysts said.
Bhutan and China have held long-running talks to resolve their border dispute, which is of strategic interest to India. Two significant tri-junction points involving Bhutan and China exist, including Doklam in the west and the eastern terminus of the McMahon Line.
Analyst Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy of the Observer Research Foundation said Bhutan is at a crossroads: it needs to demarcate its border with China while facing an economic crisis and mass migration, requiring more Indian support than ever. China's growing influence in Bhutan could threaten India's security interests.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Bhutan has no formal diplomatic relations with China, but the two countries have held 24 rounds of border talks since 1984. The Doklam plateau tri-junction saw a 73-day military standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in 2017 after China began building a road. For India, any Sino-Bhutanese border agreement that does not address India's tri-junction concerns could set a precedent affecting the Line of Actual Control. Bhutan's economy relies heavily on Indian aid, hydropower exports, and tourism. The next round of Bhutan-China border talks is expected to test how much Bhutan can accommodate Beijing without alarming New Delhi.
Source: scmp.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
