Sino-Indian Relations

by Jaipal Singh

Occasional trespassing, scuffle and strife, deliberate or unintentional, between the troops of India and China is not a new feature. The ill-defined border, growing economic and military status, traditional territorial disputes with neighbours and the tendency of accepting or refuting past agreements at convenience has earned enough notoriety to China which so often trespasses its neighbours with aggression simultaneously accusing the latter as hegemonic and expansionist. Such violations are more frequent in case of India which shares a border with China of approximately 3488 km as per official account involving the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir in the north Himalayas to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh across the north-east.

Attempts were made by British to demarcate the international boundaries between India and China from time to time but none of them were clearly ratified and implemented in letter and spirit. Consequently, after the communists took over China in 1949 pushing the Chinese nationalists to the tiny island of Taiwan, besides quickly consolidating their stronghold in the mainland, they aggressively started redefining boundaries with neighbours as well as per perceptions and vague historical records. In 1950-51, they annexed Tibet with least resistance from India which was so crucial for India's defence because historically the large plateau of Tibet played a buffer between India and China.

China had two major issues regarding the sovereignty over two large tracts of land, namely Aksai Chin in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh ( past: North East Frontier Agency) besides some smaller separated pieces of territory here and there. During the Indo-China war of 1962, Chinese captured Aksai Chin in Ladakh region which is now under their continued occupation. But their claim on Arunachal Pradesh in the north-east and few other smaller territories remain a potential source of conflict between the two countries in the region.

However, the current standoff and imbroglio between the two countries is over a piece of land under dispute between Bhutan and China situated at a tri-junction with Sikkim which is strategically important for India's security too. While Bhutan refers this strategically important plateau as Doklam, China calls it Donglang. In the past, there have been almost two dozen rounds of inconclusive talks between China and Bhutan and the current military standoff started when Chinese side unilaterally attempted to construct a metallic road in June 2017 on the Doklam plateau southwards near the Doka La pass. Bhutan had formally objected to China's road construction in the disputed area but their objections were pushed aside by China forcing India to act on the behest of Bhutan.

Indian Obligation to Protect Bhutan

Let's see if India really has any obligation to safeguard Bhutan's political and economic interests in the first place. Bhutan was a protectorate of the British India since 1910 allowing the latter to guide the former in foreign and defence matters. On independence, India and Bhutan signed a Treaty of Friendship in 1949 where under Bhutan agreed to let India continue to guide its foreign policy allowing a close consultation and cooperation in foreign and defence matters, besides the treaty also provided for a free trade and extradition protocols. At least on one occasion in the recent history i.e. after annexation of Tibet by China, the Indian Prime Minister made declaration in the parliament to allay fears of the tiny neighbour that any aggression against Bhutan would be seen as aggression against India.

India continues to heavily influence foreign, defence and commercial interests of Bhutan since long. In 2015-16, India's foreign aid to the Himalayan Kingdom was of the order of US $985 million (about INR61.60 billion). Besides another INR54 billion (US $819 million) was committed in 2013 for various developmental schemes of Bhutan's current 11th Five Year plan making the latter the largest beneficiary of India's foreign aid. India shares about 605 kilometres border with Bhutan which is its largest trading partner in percentage terms, accounting for almost 98 % of its exports and 90% of its imports. The Treaty of 1949 was renegotiated and a new Treaty of Friendship was signed in 2007 where under Bhutan seeks guidance on foreign policy in respect of countries with whom they do not have diplomatic relations, for illustration as in case of China. Thus historically, India and Bhutan share a close bond and friendly relations where under India have certain obligations including protection of sovereignty and integrity of Bhutan.

This dispute gains importance because the troops of India and China are now locked in an obstinate standoff for over two months, neither of them showing any inclination of withdrawal under the loud political accusations and slandering comments from the Chinese media and state machinery on one hand and with a relative calm and determination of Indian army and political establishment on the other. In the past, there have been several instances of Chinese incursions in the Indian Territory, protest and peaceful resistance by the Indian soldiers leading to quick withdrawal of the Chinese trespassing troops, but this time the situation is different.

Doklam is an area comprising of a plateau and valley of approximately 89 square km that lie between Tibet's Chumbi Valley in the north, India's Sikkim state in the west and Bhutan's Ha Valley in the east. Traditionally, the territory has been under the control of Bhutan which depicts it under Bhutanese map but China also claims it and has occasionally raised the issue with Bhutan. Though the mechanism of bilateral negotiations is in place, but so far they have not been able to resolve their territorial disputes including Doklam despite almost two dozen rounds of bilateral talks.

History of Doklam Dispute

Except for the seasonal occupation by Bhutanese shepherds and grazers, the plateau remains uninhabited during large part of the year due to harsh climatic conditions. In the Bhutanese map, Doklam is constantly depicted as Bhutanese territory for several decades. The first Chinese intrusion was observed in 1966 when People's Liberation Army (PLA) backed Tibetan grazers entered the pastures near Doklam in Bhutan. The Government of Bhutan then issued a statement to the Chinese government in protest stating the area has been traditionally part of Bhutan and China had never asserted any claim or disputing its boundary in the area in the past. Bhutan simultaneously also requested India to raise the matter with China but the latter rejected India's role stressing that the matter essentially relates to China and Bhutan and, subsequently, no further assertion was made by China for a few years.

Notably, no diplomatic relations formally exist between China and Bhutan. The two countries commenced border negotiations in 1972 with Bhutan attempting to associate India in a supporting role but China categorically sought the exclusion of India. In several rounds of bilateral negotiations, the disputed area was brought down to about 269 km in the north-west region by the end of twentieth century. Apparently, China also offered a package deal offering to give up their claims of about 495 sq km in the central region in exchange of the alleged 269 sq km in the northwest, including all areas adjoining Chumby Valley along with Doklam. The reason behind this bargain was the strategic value of the Northwest Territories, the possession of which offered strategic depth to the Chinese forces with easy access to the Siliguri Corridor of India that Bhutan turned down apparently under the Indian persuasion.

Having turned down the stated package deal, the subsequent rounds of talks did not yield progress after 2000. Around 2004, China started unilaterally developing infrastructure by building roads in the border areas ignoring repeated protests by the Bhutanese government in the light of the mutual Peace and Tranquillity Agreement of 1998. According to reports, the Doklam plateau has been the most contested area in the region and Chinese had earlier already built road over the plateau by 2005 in the disputed area up to the Doka La pass facing the Indian border post on the Sikkim border.

According to the Royal Government of Bhutan the present Chinese road construction on the Doklam Plateau would lead to unilateral alteration in the disputed land in violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between the two countries which inter alia also strictly prohibit the use of force, encourage the opposite parties to resolve differences through peaceful means pending a final settlement of the boundary question and maintain status quo as before March 1959. Notwithstanding these agreements, the PLA troops reportedly took control of the Chumby Valley rear Doklam, have often threatened the Bhutanese guards, seized and occupied their posts in the past besides numerous other violations in the form of intrusions, grazing, infrastructure and road construction in the area all along.

To be continued………