Bhutan King Jigme
Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who finished his Assam tour, is scheduled to hold a
crucial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on the evening of Monday.
There are
speculations that the duo is expected to discuss the border dispute between
Bhutan, Bharat and China as Wangchuck’s visit occurred soon after the Bhutanese
Foreign Minister concluded his tour to China. They dubbed the tour to
neighbouring country as “a grand success”.
Last month, China
and Bhutan inked a “Cooperation Agreement” outlining the responsibilities and
functions of the Joint Technical Team or JTT on the delimitation and
demarcation of the boundary between the two countries after their 25th round of
border talks in Beijing.
Bhutan’s Foreign
Minister Dr Tandi Dorji had visited Beijing, and China’s Vice Foreign Minister
Sun Weidong held the 25th Round of Boundary Talks last month – thus marking a significant
step in resolving the decade-old boundary dispute between the two neighbouring
nations.
During the talks,
the two leaders of the delegations signed the Cooperation Agreement between
Bhutan and China on the Responsibilities and Functions of the JTT on the
Delimitation and Demarcation of the Bhutan-China Boundary.
The JTT was constituted
during the 13th Expert Group Meeting to assist the Expert Group in the
implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Three-Step
Roadmap.
The two sides consented
to continue working together to simultaneously push forward the implementation
of all the steps of the Three-Step Roadmap, it said, adding that both sides
agreed to build on the positive momentum.
It is noteworthy
that China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contact
through periodic visits by officials. While Beijing resolved the boundary
disputes with the 12 other neighbours, Bharat and Bhutan are the only two
countries China has yet to sign the border agreements.
China’s attempts
to construct a road in the Doklam plateau in 2017 resulted in an Bharat-China
stand-off triggering tensions between the two neighbours.
The standoff ended
after Beijing dropped its plan to build the road.
Also in 2020,
China made a surprising claim on Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at the
Global Environment Facility Council by opposing funding for the project.
Bhutan has lodged
a demarche to the Chinese Embassy in Bharat over China’s claim over the
sanctuary made at the GEF meeting.
China has also
ramped up efforts to develop the villages located along borders with Bharat, Bhutan
and Nepal with infrastructure development and preferential policies. Beijing
and Thimphu held their 13th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the Bhutan-China
Boundary issues in Beijing in August this year.
NE Watch Desk With
Agency Inputs
