Bhutan switches focus to
China By Vishal Arora and Vijay
Simha
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.
Vishal Arora is a New
Delhi-based journalist. He researches and writes
on politics, culture, religion, foreign affairs
and human rights, primarily but not exclusively in
South and Southeast Asia. His articles have
appeared in the Guardian, the Washington Post, the
Huffington Post, USA Today, World Politics Review,
Foreign Policy in Focus, the Religion News
Service, and many other outlets. He can be
contacted at vishalarora_in@hotmail.com and some
of his articles can be read here. Follow him on
Twitter: vishalarora_in
(Copyright
2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights
reserved. Please contact us about sales,
syndication and republishing.)
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
