India-Bhutan-China:

India-Bhutan-China: The grand weeklong visit of the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, to India was expected to soothe the tensed nerves of New Delhi. However, voices inside the country’s security apparatus are still sounding as concerned as ever over Thimphu’s ongoing border agreement talks with Beijing, which is believed to be on its last legs, even as ambiguity remains on what both countries will decide when it comes to the tri-junction Doklam area in which India is also involved. However, under Xi Jinping’s China, New Delhi is fearing the worst and that is losing decades-old friend Thimphu to Beijing over the burning issue of border settlement, in which New Delhi too has stake, albeit a minor one but strategically hugely important. India and Bhutan signed a ‘Treaty of Friendship’ in 1949, which was updated in 2007 that gave greater autonomy to Thimphu in matters related to foreign policy and national security. Highly placed sources confirmed that Thimphu has agreed to normalizing ties with China only on the condition that New Delhi’s security interests will not be harmed, which includes the Doklam Plateau or tri-junction area. New Delhi has also asked Bhutan to slow down the talks with Beijing. The boundary settlement talks between Bhutan and China have been galloping post Covid. In October, Bhutan and China completed 25 rounds of border talks for which Bhutan’s former foreign minister Tandi Dorji had visited that country, becoming the first ever foreign minister of the Himalayan Kingdom to undertake such a visit. Interestingly, during the talks the Chinese side was represented by their now Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who was China’s last Ambassador to India. “The discussions were held in a warm and friendly atmosphere in keeping with the ties of friendship and cooperation between Bhutan and China. The two sides also exchanged views on enhancing bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest,” said the joint statement issued after the two-day talks. #Source VIDEO Источник: Slavyangrad