India Bhutan Relations
This article talks about India Bhutan relations. It discusses areas of cooperation between two neighbouring countries India and Bhutan and what the future aspects of their relation are.
About Bhutan
Relations of Bhutan with Neighbours
Areas of Cooperation between India & Bhutan
Concerns of India and Bhutan
Conclusion
About Bhutan
Bhutan is a green, Himalayan and landlocked country sandwiched between India and China. The Indian side of its periphery is touched by four states of India which are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal and Sikkim making India and Bhutan close geographically. This country is well known for its forests and its greenery is an integral component of its “Gross National Happiness”. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy. It is the only country in the world which has negative carbon emission. This means that the amount of carbon dioxide released by Bhutan is less than what is absorbed by its ecosystem. Its reason is forests of this country which absorb CO2.
Relations of Bhutan with Neighbours
As mentioned earlier, Bhutan has only two neighbours which are India and China.
Relation between Bhutan and China
Since, most of its border with China is frozen, therefore physical connectivity between two is not much. Apart from that the past experience of Bhutan about Chinese aggression and annexation of Tibet pushes Bhutan towards India.
Relation between Bhutan and India
Geographical proximity and diplomatic policies of India are facilitative factors for good relations between India and Bhutan. Both countries signed a friendship treaty in 1953 in which Bhutan allows itself to be guided by India for its foreign policy. Bhutan tilt towards India is demonstrated by the fact that Bhutan always supports India for its stand as recently about Kashmir. Similarly, India’s support for Bhutan is evident from recent standoff at Doklam between India and China.
Areas of Cooperation between India & Bhutan
India and Bhutan cooperate with each other in a number of areas on account of strong India Bhutan relations. Some of them are discussed below:
Hydropower
Bhutan has a huge potential for hydropower production. India has been financing and participating in number of such projects. Recently, PM Modi inaugurated Mangdhechhu Dam which is 70% financed by India.
Space Diplomacy
ISRO has launched a satellite for SAARC counties except Pakistan which denied for it. This satellite is called South Asian Satellite. User countries can use the data provided by the satellite if they can collect that for which ground stations are needed. India decided to set such ground stations and other small terminals for user countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka. India has already set up a ground station in Bhutan at the cost of INR 7Cr. Thus, space diplomacy is critical for better India Bhutan relations.
Education
Since past, a number of Bhutanese students have been coming to India for education.
Foreign Policy
Bhutan has always been a supporter of India at international platform and is guided by India in its foreign policy.
Cooperation against Insurgency
Both countries function in a coordinative manner to fight against insurgency. In 2003, when ULFA (a terrorist outfit) set up a safe haven in Bhutan, government of Bhutan willingly cooperated with India to wipe those insurgents. Such cooperation is essential and vital for security of both countries, India and Bhutan.
Connectivity
A project called “BBIN” (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal) is an effort to promote connectivity of four countries through road.
Other areas of cooperation are border management, security and strategic relations, tourism etc.
Concerns of India and Bhutan
Concerns of Bhutan
- Bhutan is concerned about power purchasing policy of India and also rates of power purchased. India refused to give permission to sell power to any third country like Bangladesh. If issue is not resolved, it can impact India Bhutan relations.
- In connectivity project of BBIN, Bhutan is concerned about “Motor Vehicle Agreement”. Since this agreement will increase traffic in Bhutan resulting in pollution, therefore Himalayan country is concerned and does not want to compromise its environmental values.
Concerns of India
- Since more number of tourists can be a threat to nature, thus Bhutan started imposing high tariffs on Indian tourists which is a concern for India.
- India is no longer destination for Bhutanese students who are going to other countries like Australia, USA for education.
Conclusion
Though Bhutan is walking on path of its ambitions still its friendship is critical for India. India cannot take up it as granted. Rather, efforts should be done on part of India to address Bhutan concerns so that our old friend does not get persuaded by China in its court and India Bhutan relations keep moving ahead.
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