Amidst China's efforts to find a foothold in the kingdom, Bhutan flaunts its mutual, geostrategic security partnership with India. Even as it grapples with economic complexities and regional dynamics, Bhutan continues to hold India's assistance dear for its socio-economic development
This is a general view of Bhutan's capital, Thimphu. Bhutan has seen decades of growth in relative peace, and its per capita income is the highest in the region. It abides by its unique realities as a nation with a planned political reform program amidst its flourishing monarchy. India's development assistance to Bhutan, beginning in the early 1960s, has put it firmly on the path of becoming a high-income nation.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck meet at the Tashichho Dzong Palace in Thimpu on March 22, 2024. On his two-day state visit to the tiny but strategic Himalayan nation, Modi announced India's decision to double assistance for Bhutan's 13th five-year plan from Rs5000 to Rs10,000 crore.
Map locating the Doklam plateau in the Himalayas, at the centre of a dispute between China and India. Lying between China's Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan's Ha District to the east, and India's Sikkim state to the west, Doklam (called Donglang by China) has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961, but China also claims it. In 2017, Chinese army engineers began to build a road through the Doklam plateau. Coordinating with Bhutanese authorities, Indian soldiers across the border intervened and stopped the Chinese crew, leading to a military standoff for months. Since then, China has quietly expanded its border facilities along the Actual Control Line.
In this file photo from 2008, a Chinese soldier stands guard on the Chinese side of the ancient Nathu La border crossing between India and China. When the two Asian giants opened the 15,000-foot-high pass in 2006 to improve ties dogged by a bitter war in 1962 that saw the route closed for 44 years, many on both sides hoped it would boost trade. Years later, this border trade with China has great potential but is only waiting to be tapped. The Doklam issue caused a huge setback for the traders on both sides.
Foreign cadets from Bhutan line up during their graduation ceremony at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai on October 29, 2022. Bhutan has focused more on resolving its boundary dispute with China, holding the 25th round of talks in 2023, which they claim are now in the final stages of resolution. This has caused Bhutan to remain cagey about India's proposal to build a road—a military-led initiative—from Tawang in Arunachal to Guwahati, which is passing through Bhutan. Thimphu, however, is mindful of India's interests and does not give up its claim on Doklam, which has a bearing on India's security.