Prime Minister’s choice of Bhutan is sagacious
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to visit Bhutan in mid-June for his first foreign tour may have come as a surprise, given that it's a fairly low key destination from where no big bang deliverables are expected right away. Many had expected that either Japan or China would have the honour of the maiden visit, given that the Prime Minister has long-standing relationships with both countries. More recently, there were also talks of a visit to either Nepal (where no Indian Prime Minister has gone since the early 1990s) or Bangladesh (ostensibly to sign the Teesta water agreement). But by zeroing in on the tiny Himalayan kingdom, Prime Minister Modi has discarded the cold calculations that drive these decisions and instead acknowledged the special relationship that India shares with Bhutan — its dearest neighbour. While almost every other country in the region has had some degree of a love-hate relationship with India, Bhutan is the only one that does not have a history of fostering anti-India sentiments. In fact, the 1949 Treaty of Friendship allowed India to “guide” Bhutan's foreign policy — a tradition which continued up until 2007, when the pact was re-negotiated to give Thimphu full control of its international engagements. In the years since then, Bhutan has played a fuller role on the world stage, but even as it has reached out to new friends, the primacy attached to its relationship with India has remained steadfast.
Today, India is Bhutan's biggest development and trade partner. In the first case, India has consistently supported Bhutan's Five Year plans since the 1960s. For the ongoing 11th Plan, a sum of Rs45 billion has been allotted. Additionally, India has promised five billion rupees for the Economic Stimulus Plan — a deal that was secured by Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay during his trip to India last year. Incidentally, it was also his first foreign tour. New Delhi has also extended a generous credit line of Rs1,000 crore so that Bhutan may overcome the rupee liquidity crunch. Another area of close cooperation is infrastructure development, specifically in the field of hydro-electric power. Three power plants are already up and running; 10 more are in the pipeline. In fact, when northern parts of India plunged into darkness during the multiple grid failures in 2012, Bhutan came to India's aid by releasing additional power from its hydro-electric plants. As far as trade is concerned, India accounts for 79 per cent of Bhutan's imports and 94 per cent of its exports. In 2012, the two countries did business worth Rs68.3 billion.
From a strategic perspective, Bhutan's importance to India cannot be overstated as it serves as a buffer against potential Chinese designs. Bhutan and China have an undemarcated border, as a result of which the strategic Chumbri valley, where the dotted lines of Bhutan, India and China converge, has become a contested zone. For India, this is especially worrisome since the valley is just five kilometres from the Siliguri corridor which connects the rest of the country to the North-East and Nepal. To further complicate matters, Beijing has also been trying to bring the Himalayan kingdom within its circle of influence. But the Bhutanese remain wary of China given the Tibetan experience.