Bhutan plays big role in ending Sino-Indian military standoff in Doklam

NEW DELHI: Bhutan contributed in a quiet but major way in ending Sino-Indian military standoff by remaining firm on its position on territorial sovereignty, undertaking delicate balancing between India and China and withstanding diplomatic, political and military pressure from Beijing.

While India and Bhutan were engaged in hectic diplomatic parleys since the standoff began mid-June, Thimphu came under immense diplomatic pressure from China with senior diplomats and their families travelling to Thimphu from Delhi. China even went on to claim that Bhutan has accepted Doklam as part of the bigger neighbour only to be refuted by Thimphu.

Bhutan, under pressure from Beijing to establish diplomatic ties, invoked 1949 and 2007 bilateral treaties with India — allowed Indian military to camp at Doklam. It further abided by 2012 Sino-Indian understanding that all trijunction points must be addressed through trilateral dialogue and not bilateral between Thimphu and Beijing.


“It was not an easy task for Bhutan – sandwiched between India and China – to undertake delicate balancing act. But it did that with finesse. Besides unlike China, Bhutan did not indulge in any war of words allowing quiet diplomacy to take precedence. All eyes were on Bhutan’s role as to whether it would dilute its position during the episode. On the contrary, Thimphu was diplomatic, issuing only one statement on June 29, followed by a remark from one of its senior diplomats and finally sharp statement on Tuesday that status quo must be respected based on the existing agreements between the respective countries,” explained a senior Bhutan expert.

The media in Bhutan too was cautious in the entire episode and even after Sino-Indian disengagement on Monday that ended the crisis reacted in a mature fashion. The Himalayan State will hold its third Parliamentary polls next year and Thimphu’s foreign relations could emerge as a campaign issue with a section of Opposition demanding establishment of diplomatic ties with China. There have been allegations of this section being lured by China through cheque book diplomacy.

The current dispensation in Thimphu has been extremely cautious of establishing new diplomatic contacts after the spree of partnerships that were created between 2008 and 2013.