NEW DELHI – Taken aback by Thimphu’s announcement that it had agreed to “change the claim line” in boundary talks with Beijing, New Delhi is now waiting to hear it from the Bhutan King, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, who arrives here next Monday.
Given that India too is involved in negotiations with China on settling the boundary dispute, it came as a complete surprise when Bhutan’s Secretary for International Boundaries Dasho Pema Wangchuk, who sat with his Chinese counterparts on July 13-14, said that both sides had “agreed to change the claim line”.
Dasho Pema Wangchuk will also be part of the Bhutan King’s delegation and is expected to arrive here earlier for talks with Indian officials to explain what transpired with China at the last meeting. He may also meet National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, India’s special representative in the boundary talks with China.
With little input on what had happened and apprehensive that Thimphu was willing to cede some territory, India rushed its Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Madan Gopal to Bhutan last week to explain the strategic importance of the territory north of Bhutan which forms part of the disputed boundary.
The military delegation also met the Bhutan King and explained to him the importance of the area bordering the Chumbi valley, which falls in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Of late, the Bhutan King has been concerned about the fallout on his kingdom of the resumption of border trade via Nathu La. In fact, he is said to have been surprised at the pace with which the Chinese had developed infrastructure to support this trade.
Besides, he is wary of the Chinese building roads close to the Bhutan claim line that runs from Doklam (close to Sikkim and Nathu La) in the west to Sinchela in the east.
In this backdrop, sources said, Thimphu may view an early settlement of its boundary dispute with China as the best way to address these concerns given that New Delhi has agreed on a set of guiding principles to resolve its boundary dispute with Beijing.
These disputed areas, however, fall north of the Torsa river in Bhutan and any move to cede territory in this zone has traditionally been considered detrimental to Indian security in the past.
The key portion here is 89 sq km of disputed territory in the Doklam area near Sikkim on the Indian side and bordering the strategically important Chumbi Valley on the Chinese end.
While there is a view that these fears may not hold today given the positive relations between India and China, sources said, New Delhi is still eager to understand the strategic implications of any shift in Bhutanese position following the negotiations with China.
Bhutan does not have full-scale diplomatic relations with China and has traditionally conveyed its concerns through India. The Bhutan King had, for instance, voiced his concerns in the past with India over excessive road construction activity by the Chinese close to the disputed territory. India, sources said, also took up the matter with China.
While the 1949 Indo-Bhutan treaty does mention that Thimphu will be guided by India’s advice in external relations, China and Bhutan started independent talks in 1984.
However, several rounds of talks did not yield much results even though both sides signed an agreement to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Sino-Bhutanese border after the tenth round of talks in 1998.
The two sides later formed an expert group involving officials responsible for boundary delineation on respective sides. This group held its second meeting in Thimphu on July 13-14 and is said to have agreed on some change in the claim line.
