Bhutan switches focus to China
For the first time in the history, Bhutan is asserting its right to have formal ties with China, its northern neighbor and India's arch-rival. New Delhi might need to amend its policy on the tiny nation of about 700,000 people, which is seen as exclusively loyal to India.
At the monthly "Meet the Press" conference in Thimphu last week, Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley called China "a reality," when asked if he met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at a UN conference in Brazil in June.
"It is best that we do not ignore, but accept, the reality," said Thinley, who is likely to win a second term in the 2013 general election.
After the Rio+20 conference, Thinley denied Beijing's claim that he had expressed his willingness to establish diplomatic relations with China. The statement by Thinley's office, which claimed he and Wen had only discussed bilateral issues and multilateral cooperation, was seen as meant to pacify New Delhi, which is believed to have tremendous influence over Bhutan's foreign and defense policy and has been its largest trade and development partner for decades.
Barely five months later, Thimphu appears less apologetic and more assertive. At last week's press conference, Thinley acknowledged having
"a very special relationship with India," but went on to affirm that
"it does not mean that we make enemies of all others."
Reports about Thinley's first-ever meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Rio raised concerns in India thanks to the race for dominance between New Delhi and Beijing in South Asia and beyond, and China's "string of pearls" strategy to encircle India in the maritime domain.
China has long pressed Bhutan to have diplomatic relations and give access to a disputed patch of land bordering India in northwest Bhutan.
"It became evident from the very first that China was more interested in developing direct relations with Bhutan than resolving border issues," according to a policy paper entitled, "Security of Bhutan: Walking Between the Giants," published in Journal of Bhutan Studies in 2004. "During the second round (of talks over border issues) in 1985, China talked of expanding contact, saying it has diplomatic relations with all SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) states, but not with Bhutan."
The paper also noted how China meant to target India. During an 11th round of Sino-Indian talks held in Beijing in 1996,
"China proposed to exchange 495 square kilometers area with an area of 269 square kilometers in the north-west Bhutan," which "would seriously undermine India's security by shifting the Bhutan-China border to the south," the paper added.
However, Thinley is more concerned about Bhutan's interests. He told reporters last week that analysts in India had little awareness about the vulnerability of a tiny nation.
Thimphu apparently fears both neighbors, as evident in the emphasis it lays on preserving the visible aspects of the nation's culture.
In the 1970s, Bhutan's fourth king Jigme Singye Wangchuck famously said the nation did not have "economic power or military muscle," but its "unique culture" can "strengthen Bhutan's sovereignty."
Bhutan seeks to mark, and protect, its territory through its cultural distinctiveness. To look different from India and China, it adopted a mandatory Driglam Namzha, the official behavior and dress code, which requires citizens to wear the national dress - the gho for men and kira for women - in public places. Art and architecture are also required to conform to the country's traditions.
"I think it's time we have our own foreign policy experts," Thinley told journalists.
India, which inherited the suzerainty over Bhutan after the independence in 1947, has enjoyed almost exclusive influence on that nation. Thimphu, for its part, derived a sense of security from its relations with New Delhi, especially after China "annexed" Tibet, Bhutan's northern neighbor, in 1959. However,
Bhutan, which struggles to sustain itself financially due to its difficult terrain, got weary of overdependence on New Delhi after its western neighbor, Sikkim, was "absorbed" by India through a referendum in 1975.
A 1949 treaty required Thimphu to be guided by the advice of New Delhi in regard to its external relations; the clause was removed in a 2007 treaty - only on paper. But now, Thimphu seems to think the time has come to actually pursue a foreign policy independent of India.
Bhutan is aggressively seeking a role in international relations apparently to assert its sovereignty in all matters. Thimphu made an unsuccessful bid for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council last month. It managed to get 20 votes in the 193-member General Assembly. Thinley said during the press conference that Bhutan's participation in the UNSC election was in itself an achievement.
In July 2011, Thimphu was able to get the UN General Assembly unanimously adopt a resolution placing "happiness" on the global agenda and empowering Bhutan to convene a high-level meeting on happiness as part of the 66th session of the Assembly in New York. This perhaps further reassured Bhutan that it deserves to be independent of foreign influence.
In August, about two months after Thinley's meeting with Jiabao,
India's concerns didn't deter Thimphu from hosting China's Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying, who made another public pitch for establishing diplomatic relations with Bhutan in a speech in Thimphu (
http://www.kuenselonline.com/2011/?p=35042).
"About six weeks ago Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Jigme Thinley met for a historic, first-time meeting between the two countries at the head of government level in Rio de Janeiro on the sidelines of the Rio+20 summit. The two leaders reached new and important common understanding on the development of China-Bhutan relations," Ying reiterated. But Thimphu did not issue a public statement on Ying's visit.
New Delhi is expected to react. India's ambassador to Bhutan, Pavan K Varma, resigned in late October . Varma, who enjoyed good relations with the government of Bhutan as well as its people, had sought extension as an envoy in Bhutan, but New Delhi refused to oblige apparently for his failure to foresee and preempt the growing proximity between Thimphu and Beijing.
According to media reports, India's incumbent ambassador to Syria, VP Haran, is expected to replace Varma in Bhutan. Haran was deputy chief of the Indian mission in Nepal during the crucial last days of King Gyanendra in that country in the early 2000s. And India is believed to have practiced carrot and stick diplomacy in Nepal.
In the coming months and years, both Bhutan and India will need to take important decisions.
Bhutan, which is seeking to lead the world in environment conservation, could perhaps look at how resource and strategic interests-hungry China deals with other nations in Asia, such as Burma and Sri Lanka. And India should re-evaluate its nature of diplomacy in nations like Nepal, where New Delhi is increasingly losing influence despite alleged interference in that nation's domestic affairs.
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