Bhutan King and PM Modi meeting: Let me ask you a simple question first. Is being impulsive an advantage or a disadvantage in war? I know it is hard to answer these subjective questions with an objective yes or no. But when it comes to nationalism and patriotism, it is hardly possible not to be impulsive. The same thing happened after Lotay Tshering, Bhutan’s Prime Minister, made a statement.
A large section of the media and masses started criticising Bhutan’s stand. Some have even concluded that Bhutan is going to become a Chinese ally and turn its back on India. But soon, MEA cleared the whole Indian stand.
Bhutan’s King meets PM Modi
Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering made a statement that China is a party to border negotiations. He further said that all countries have an equal say and that no country is big or small. He even said that there was no Chinese intrusion in Bhutanese territory. This created resentment in the Indian media, and people started criticising the Bhutan’s stand.
But there was no official statement from the Indian government or specifically the Ministry of External Affairs. Being affected by hyper-impulsiveness, many foreign policy commentators and media personnel attacked Bhutan’s stance. They simply undermined the integrity of Bhutan and India’s long relationship with it.
Unfortunately, all the media commentary was made without analysing the context of India-Bhutan ties. In our previous article, we clearly addressed the crucial aspect of India-Bhutan ties and suggested that a necessary wait is required before the government of India takes any stand. And now PM Modi has met the Bhutan King during his visit to India, after which the fog of confusion has been cleared.
Also read: Bhutan’s unfortunate statement on Doklam stalemate
Bhutan King and PM Modi meeting: 5 cooperation points discussed
Before going to India’s stand on Doklam, let us understand what was discussed in the meeting between PM Modi and King of Bhutan Wangchuk. In a press conference organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the Foreign Secretary, opened up on the agenda and outcomes of the Bhutan King and PM Modi meeting discussed. The first point of the discussion was based on the Economic and Development Partnership, which included the following:
- Cooperation on the 13th five-year plan of Bhutan, which is to begin next year,
- India to provide relevant financial support for reforms in Bhutan.
- India’s support in institution-building in Bhutan
- And the most important one is project-based partnership in development.
Secondly, both countries agreed to cooperate in trade, connectivity, and investment. The cooperation will be focused on infrastructure connectivity, under which the railway connectivity was agreed upon between the two nations. This will definitely bolster the people-to-people linkage, which is also the key area of cooperation under connectivity. Apart from that, air connectivity and digital connectivity will be the core areas of cooperation.
Also read: Why PM Modi is getting Bhutan’s highest civilian honor
Thirdly, it was discussed to take cooperative, long-term, and sustainable trade facilitation measures that are directly linked to the economic prosperity of both India and Bhutan. This includes a standby credit facility for Bhutan. It is worth noting that this standby credit facility will be the third of its kind to be provided to Bhutan, as there are already two credit facilities in place.
Fourthly, and most importantly, discussion on energy cooperation took place. It must be considered that 80% of the country’s external public debt stems from loans for hydropower projects, mostly financed by India. New Delhi is also the largest buyer of Bhutanese hydropower. The sector makes up 14% of Bhutan’s GDP and 27% of the government’s revenue.
But PM Modi and King of Bhutan Wangchuk discussed in the meeting that the diversification of the power sector to other renewable, non-hydro projects. Bhutan is assured of increased cooperation in its effort.
Finally, cooperation was assured in new sectors such as space. This includes space startups. The cooperation is already underway. As of March15 this year, the ground station for India–Bhutan service at Thimphu was inaugurated.
This ground station will enable Bhutan to receive data from the India-Bhutan satellite pertaining to its territory directly from the satellite and process it in real-time. A consensus was also reached on the exchange of agricultural commodities and the establishment of integrated checkpoints on borders (ICP).
On the Doklam issue
In the press conference, questions regarding the statement of the Bhutanese PM were asked. Replying to that, Kwatra said, “India and Bhutan remain in close touch relating to security cooperation.” He further said, “All I would say is that the Government of India very closely follows all developments that have a bearing on our national interest, and we will take all necessary measures to safeguard them as necessary.”
The Indian stand is pretty clear on this. Bhutan has always been an important partner of India, and it knows that with India by its side, it has peaceful domestic conditions. Its bilateral relations across the world are minimal and are mostly discussed through the Indian embassy. This shows that the kingdom does not have much interest in a global anarchic atmosphere. It has continuously renounced Chinese offers of territory swaps because of security concerns about India, among other reasons.
Besides, it knows what China has done to many countries, and it never wants to be that. And if it wanted, the above cooperation sector clearly portrays that it has nothing that India cannot fulfil. Additionally, being on the Indian side, its sovereignty has never been compromised, a case difficult to make with China.
So, after all this, it must be clear that the statement of Bhutan’s PM has nothing substantive against India, and the long historical relations between India and Bhutan are hard to break. And if his statement was considered by China as a tactical win, then PM Modi has checkmated China and settled the score.
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