Foreign Secretary on 3-day visit to Bhutan amid tension with China

A three-day journey to Bhutan was undertaken by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday, marking the first high-level visit from New Delhi following the formation of a new administration led by Tshering Tobgay, the leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Kwatra’s visit takes place as China and Bhutan consider quickly resolving their long-running border dispute, which could have an impact on India’s security concerns.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the foreign secretary will be visiting Bhutan on a formal visit from January 29 to January 31.

“Foreign Secretary Kwatra will receive an audience with His Majesty, the King. He will also call on the prime minister, foreign minister and meet with foreign secretary of Bhutan and other senior officials of the Royal Government,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between Bhutan and India,” it added.

After the PDP won the elections earlier this month, Tobgay took office as prime minister of Bhutan on Sunday.

Nearly three months ago, in Beijing, Bhutan’s then-foreign minister Tandi Dorji met with Wang Yi, his Chinese counterpart.

Bhutan fully adheres to the one-China principle and is prepared to collaborate with China to resolve the boundary dispute as soon as possible and move the diplomatic process toward establishing diplomatic ties, according to a Chinese readout on the discussions.

Since the negotiations between China and Bhutan over their boundary dispute may affect New Delhi’s security interests, particularly in the Doklam triangular dispute, New Delhi has been closely monitoring the developments.

China and Bhutan decided in August of last year to move quickly and concurrently to execute a “three-step roadmap” to end their smoldering boundary conflict.

Bhutan and China signed the “three-step roadmap” agreement in October 2021 in an effort to speed up talks to settle their boundary issue.

The agreement was signed four years after China attempted to build a road across territory that Bhutan claimed was its own, resulting in a 73-day standoff between the Chinese and Indian forces at the Doklam tripoint.

There were even concerns about a wider confrontation between the two neighbors following the 2017 standoff between China and India on the Doklam plateau. India backed Bhutan’s claim to the territory, which it had claimed.