NEW DELHI: The joint statement issued at the end of Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s visit to India earlier this week made no explicit reference to the boundary issue (the trijunction of India, Bhutan and China in the Chumbi Valley). But given the media reportage and the perception that Bhutan may be leaning towards China, the issue would have been high up on the agenda. After the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops on the Doklam plateau in 2017, China has been pressuring Bhutan to settle the boundary row and establish diplomatic relations. India-Bhutan ties, which have base in years of trust of goodwill, unnerves the Chinese who have been playing mischief along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. In this episode of Simply Nitin, StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale dwells on India’s security concerns vis-à-vis China at the trijunction and other aspects of the India-Bhutan relationship.
