India has taken a note of the Bhutan-China agreement, responds Indian foreign ministry

New Delhi: – On Thursday, Bhutan and China that had a border dispute going on for several decades, seems to have reached an agreement. Arindam Bagchi, Secretary of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, has confirmed that India has taken note of the agreement between Bhutan and China on the border dispute. Indian and Chinese armies had a standoff following a conflict in 2017 in Doklam, which is on the border of India-Bhutan and China. As India is responsible for Bhutan’s security, the Foreign Ministry’s response indicates that India is keeping a close eye on the agreement between China and Bhutan. The Chinese mouthpiece expressed satisfaction over the agreement, especially without India’s mediation. China’s official mouthpiece claimed to have side-lined India from independently establishing relations with Bhutan.

The Chinese mouthpiece accused India of handling Bhutan’s foreign policy and other affairs, despite Bhutan being an independent sovereign country. The Chinese mouthpiece called it an encroachment of Bhutan’s rights. However, India has not paid much heed to the comments and said that it closely watched the agreement between the two countries.

Bhutan and China have had border disputes since 1984 with several attempts to resolve since the last three decades, although nothing much could be achieved. However, through a video conference between Bhutan‘s Foreign Minister Tandy Dorjee and China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao on Thursday, both countries agreed on a three-step roadmap to resolve the border dispute. This will speed up discussions on border disputes between the two countries, said Bhutan’s foreign minister.

Although Bhutan is reacting to the agreement as part of its political etiquette, Bhutan is fully aware of the real threat from China. China has exhibited expansionist policy to claim areas of bordering countries. If given a chance, China may venture and grab Bhutan’s territory. China claims the Jakarlung and Pasamlung valleys in northern Bhutan. China also claimed their rights on Doklam on the India-Bhutan border. After the Doklam conflicts in 2017, it became clear that Bhutan was safe from China only because of the strong presence of the Indian military.

In 2017, China had sent troops to take control of Doklam. The standoff lasted for 73 days after India deployed troops to protect Doklam in response to an appeal from Bhutan. Bhutan had thanked India for its military assistance. India has taken its cooperation with Bhutan to a higher level with ISRO to launch an independent satellite for Bhutan. Therefore, the agreement between Bhutan and China does not seem to pose any threat to Indian interests.