Updated: Jul 02, 2017 10:50 IST
Sutirtho Patranobis
Hindustan Times, Beijing
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...ting-bhutan/story-BzCLTnwkV2ioO2ueJkUi6N.html
Five decades ago, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came under attack from Beijing for committing to protect Bhutan against intruding Chinese troops in the Doklam plateau --the scene of the
current standoff.
In 1966, Beijing lashed out at Gandhi for supporting Bhutan and accusing China of intruding into Bhutan; the Communist country was particularly angry because she did it at a press conference in New Delhi on October 7.
Quoting from official papers exchanged by the two governments in 1967, Hindustan Times reported last week that months of allegations and counters between India and China had preceded the violence that broke out in the Sikkim sector that year.
A set of new official papers accessed by HT now show that accusations of territorial intrusions between China and India started a year before in the Doklam (Donglang) area, which was disputed between China and Bhutan even then.
Bhutan, like now, had asked for India’s help to counter the intrusions and New Delhi had agreed.
China wasn’t happy.
“The Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi openly asserted at the press conference on October 7 (1966) that India was committed to protect Bhutan. It is thus quite clear that in slanderously charging China with ‘intrusions’ into Bhutan, the Indian government not only wants to create a new pretext for opposing China and sow discord between China and Bhutan but also is vainly attempting to realise its sinister design of tightening its control over Bhutan under the guise of ‘protection’. But these despicable schemes will not succeed,” official news agency Hsinhua (now Xinhua) said in a report the same month.
This time, China has accused Indian border troops of trespassing into Chinese territory on June 18 and asked New Delhi to withdraw its troops from the Donglang area as a precondition for a “meaningful dialogue” to resolve the issue.
Union minister, Arun Jaitley, told a news channel that the statement from Bhutan makes it clear that the land in question belongs to them.
“Bhutan government had issued a statement yesterday (June 29) in which it made it clear that the land in question belonged to Bhutan. It is located near India’s land. There is an arrangement between India and Bhutan for giving security,” Jaitley said.
The Chinese government has dismissed India’s version of events in a manner recalling its response back in 1966.
“In its note to the Chinese government dated September 30, the Indian government concocted stories about ‘intrusions’ into Bhutanese territory by Chinese herdsmen and patrols and claiming to be acting on behalf of Bhutan, lodged a so-called protest with the Chinese government,” the report from 1966 added.
“Following that, with much fanfare Indian government set its propaganda machine in motion raising a hue and cry about ‘Chinese intrusions into Bhutan’ and the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came out in person to conduct the campaign against China,” the official news agency wrote.
The argument and the language used to argue by the Chinese was similar to what the ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) and ministry of defence (MOD) have used last week – clearly there is a template.