A military confrontation at a height of about 3,000 meters above sea level, at Doklam in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which lies between the two giant neighbors India and China, threatens regional security in South Asia.
India would be well advised to take immediate steps to withdraw its forces, which have intruded beyond a defined section of the boundary, and allow Bhutan and China to settle their differences over border demarcation in the Doklam area in the Sikkim sector.
India says it was invited to intervene, but Bhutan has remained silent.
Chinese road-construction activities in the Doklam area started on June 16 and were intended to move toward a state army camp at Zomphiri in southern Bhutan. New Delhi has perceived this as posing a security threat to the Siliguri Corridor, which connects India’s northeastern states with the mainland.
India must open diplomatic dialogue with China to sort out its strategic concerns over the Siliguri Corridor and refrain from resorting to force of arms.
India’s growing strategic alliance with the US in the South China Sea is perceived as a security threat by China. Since July 10, Indian, Japanese and US naval forces have come together in the Bay of Bengal for the so-called Malabar exercise to practice communication, search and rescue, anti-submarine operations, boarding tactics and so on.
Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump in Washington and highlighted the Malabar exercise and the importance of freedom of navigation, overflight and commerce. Trump said “our militaries” were working every day to enhance maritime cooperation respecting sovereignty and international law.
A Trump-Modi joint statement on June 26 at the end of the visit to Washington was openly supportive of India.
The Malabar exercise is only a small part of the growing US-India partnership, MaryKay Carlson, an official in the US Embassy in New Delhi, wrote in a July 11 op-ed in The Times of India.
China perceives the Malabar exercise as a security threat.
Before becoming prime minister in May 2014, Modi had been chief minister of Gujarat state. He had had no previous experience of the intricacies of governance and policy formulation at the central level in New Delhi. Since becoming PM, Modi has mainly relied on the bureaucracy for making policy, both domestic and foreign. However, as one adage puts it, bureaucracy is like fire: It is obedient as a servant, but is dangerous when it becomes master.
In domestic policy, Modi has made egregious blunders such as on demonetization last year, which has hit the agricultural poor hard. His GST (goods and services tax) policy is also likely to have a seriously adverse impact on small and marginal industries.
The increasing lack of trust with Pakistan and China under Modi over the past three years has also had serious consequences.
In Outlook magazine this month, Professor Shen Dingli of China’s Fudan University explained the adverse consequences of the Modi government’s policies on the Doklam issue. He notes that India began by falsely charging China with intruding into Indian territory.
Doklam was an area in dispute only between China and Bhutan, not China and India. Between China and Sikkim (now part of India) there is no dispute, and India accepts that Doklam is part of China. So India stopped arguing that China had intruded into India; it picked up another argument that Doklam belonged to Bhutan. China felt this was insincere.
Shen felt Bhutan had the right to disagree with China but before it could do so, India’s armed forces entered an area New Delhi has already acknowledged as belonging to China – after once again accusing China of having invaded India.
The relations between India and China have been affected by differences over many issues. Beijing is not happy over New Delhi’s increasing closeness to the US, which is targeting China as a global threat. New Delhi on the other hand is annoyed with Beijing over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which it claims violates India’s sovereignty over areas included in the project.
Beijing objected to the visit to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, now a resident of India. China claims the state belongs to it.
There are other differences as well, including India’s demand for inclusion in the Nuclear Suppliers Group allegedly blocked by China, and China’s alleged opposition to declaration by the United Nations of the Pakistani Masood Azhar as an international terrorist.
Above all, Modi boycotted China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was a conspicuous insult to Beijing. The inaugural ceremony of the program held in Beijing was attended by representatives from 160 countries including the US, Japan, Russia and Vietnam.
India had only one private representative at the function, journalist Sudheendra Kulkarni. He was effusive in his praise for the BRI.
By not attending the event, Modi seemed to have let down his own country above all.
Shivshankar Menon, a former Indian foreign secretary, has noted that China was attempting to change the status quo at the tri-junction with Bhutan and Sikkim. He said: “Unlike earlier times, this time China wants India to withdraw even before any dialogue can take place.”
China’s ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, said troop withdrawal by India was a precondition for any resolution of the dispute between Bhutan and China. Bhutan has no diplomatic ties with China and is supported militarily and diplomatically by India.
Luo says India has no right to interfere in the China-Bhutan boundary talks, nor is India entitled to make any territorial claims on behalf of Bhutan.
India has informed China that its road construction aimed at significantly enhancing China’s military logistics in the region meant a change in the status quo, with serious security implications for India, altering the Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreement of 1993.
The Chinese road construction at Doklam seems aimed at moving in the direction of a Bhutanese military establishment in south Bhutan (see map). China seems unwilling to give up the project.
The China-India military standoff has prevented Hindu pilgrims from India from crossing over the Nathu La pass to visit the holy Kailash Mansarovar lake in Tibet.
Also this link : http://wangchasangey.blogspot.my/2017/07/truth-of-india-and-bhutan-relationship.html
And this : http://wangchasangey.blogspot.my/2017/07/understanding-sino-bhutan-border-issues.html
The newly strengthened Indians have not given up hope to avenge the painful Maoist lesson.
Like Sikkim, Bhutan will be annexed had not those Nepali immigrants being kicked out.
Bhutan will be annexed, with the go-ahead secured from the Trumpeter or his envoy in one of those sexy Bangla pussy-grabbing dances.
The consensus is that India is right in standing its ground and asking China to withdraw to its borders.
The Chinese foreign policy in relation to India is a disaster for over 70 years. They have pushed India into the orbit of the West, through the invasion and occupation of Tibet, the border war of 1962 and using Pakistan as a vassal state and proxy for military purposes.
Before talking about Bhutan or Sikkim, the chinese should move out of Tibet. The fact hat they are occupying Hindu holy places shows they have no right to be here.
what to say about china dirty game with all his neighbours… no comment.
yes and chinese are good guys always, saints and God’s chosen people… India always wrong….lol…. Chinnie the poo….
Daryl Shen hey wat I think of Bhutan.. are u underestimating Bhutan cuz of size…if it comes to battle ground Bhutan doesn’t give up easily and dnt be occupied easily..bhutan has lots of battle history even with British and China before and won the most of the wars.so better u keep shut ur rubbish mouth and suck us mothers pussy dickhead….u will be dying soon so rest in peace in advance.
Chinese road building is aimed at cutting NER from INDIA by occupying the strategic chicken neck near SILIGURI.Communists are very happy..Their Father is coming.
China needs someone to stand up and bitch-slap them into reality, enough of this nonsensical bullying and enough of Mr. Subramanian’s unadulterated hot gases…
One sided article by Asia times, reality is not exposed. Wrong information about Modiwho having time politician at both national and state level where he won three consecutive election and made Gujarat one of the most devolved state in India. Recent survey shows modi govt having confident of 73% Indians. India having history to attack any country, China case is totally different which annexed started from Tibet and attacked neighbors states. Always having eye on other state boundaries. It must leave Bhutan area and start negotiation with all its neighbors. Stop attacking and aggressive move, this time it costs it more then else.. beware
Wonder how many OPPO smart phones this author received to write this article?
LOL. You have a talent of talk black into white.
LOL. You hidu are low land people. Shamelessly claim holy place in other people’s land. Does you people go school at all? or your culture can not tell truth?
What ever it may be if china want to talk about history then they should also consider that history states that Tibet does not beling to China. If chinese people have any dignity then they should consider what they say. State the "History" " Free Tibet" do you think China can? China being one of the biggest in the part of Asia, many things are indeed expected from it and its people. Good things. But till now China has been a dissapointment and most of the time it has proved to be just a huge country filled with greedy people. There is no way that the people within China would ever stop its government from commiting a crime, or talk about freeing Tibet or helping Tibet or any other country that is being wronged by its country and its government. When i watched the movie " flowers of war" it was amazing how china came about such an invasion from its neighbouring country Japan. With such a history of its own presently the way china is treating its neighbours is one thing that shocks me. China should have been an anti war country in the asain region. Any how it is amazing how the government, leaders and the people of China could choose to be filled with greed. China is a very beautiful country but your people are a disgrace. "A beautiful disgrace" Bully your small neighbour as much as you can but if history repeats to your country and your people "I wonder if my heart could ever have pitty on you again" And if you think that pitty is not what u need i assure u my fellow chinese brothers and sisters–humanity has died in you. You are nothing but a demon occupying the hollow vessle of human form. A terrorist to other small countries. Widower of women. Killer of families. Devower of lives. Slate cleaner of history. A life that thrives on others misery. "A LIVING GREED"
@Praveen Poojary Muralidhar brother it is a Chinese newpaper that why it only showing one side of story.
This is a very crucial stage where if India blinks as this idiot demands, we will become vassal of China. Lets see if China is prepared to lose everything it has achieved, China has far more to lose than India.
Daryl Shen you mean like Tibet?
Point here is insatiable greed. Everywhere in her borders, land or water, near or too far, China is always engaged in disputes because of her expansion policy that already violates the territorial integrity of other countries and imposes upon them the acceptance of changed realities on the ground. It’s customarily unfair to grab territories without war having been fought.
China is welcoming their disaster….They now need to acknowledge India as a Super Power Country…But It will be LoL for you..�