Army Chief meets Bhutan King in Thimphu; give attention to boosting enduring strategic ties
5 min readBy PTI
NEW DELHI: Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande has met Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and different prime civil and army leaders of Bhutan in Thimphu with a give attention to boosting “enduring” strategic ties.
Gen Pande was on a go to to Bhutan within the backdrop of rising considerations in India over China’s relentless makes an attempt to develop army infrastructure round Bhutanese territory within the Doklam plateau.
People aware of Gen Pande’s engagements in Bhutan mentioned regional defence and safety challenges, Chinese actions within the plateau and adjoining areas and methods to boost bilateral defence cooperation figured in his talks.
The Army Chief’s go to to Bhutan coincided with India’s resolution to authorise the export of 5,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 10,000 metric tonnes of sugar to Bhutan as per Thimphu’s necessities.
Earlier this 12 months, India restricted the export of the 2 commodities to strengthen India’s meals safety.
The Army Chief referred to as on the King on Saturday apart from assembly Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth King of Bhutan.
“General Manoj Pande #COAS called on His Majesty the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and discussed aspects of enhancing the enduring bilateral relationship between the two Nations,” the Army mentioned in a tweet.
It mentioned he was additionally accorded an “impeccable Guard of Honour” at Thimphu.
ALSO READ | New photographs present China has constructed a full-fledged village close to Doklam
The individuals cited above mentioned Gen Pande held in depth talks along with his Bhutanese counterpart Lt General Batoo Tshering on all key points together with the general scenario within the Doklam tri-junction.
In 2017, the Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a 73-day stand-off on the Doklam tri-junction after China tried to increase a street within the space that Bhutan claimed belonged to it.
Gen Pande additionally met with the Indian officers engaged in capacity-building of the Bhutanese army.
India has been considerably extending assist to Bhutan’s armed forces together with in areas of coaching.
The Army Chief’s go to to Bhutan got here days after new satellite tv for pc photographs emerged displaying China setting up a village east of the Doklam plateau on the Bhutanese facet, a area that’s thought of necessary for India’s strategic curiosity.
After the photographs got here out, the Ministry of External Affairs mentioned India retains a relentless watch on all developments having bearing on nationwide safety and takes needed measures to safeguard its pursuits.
In the previous few years, India has been specializing in strengthening its infrastructure alongside the Line of Actual Control (LAC) together with within the Sikkim sector.
In October final 12 months, Bhutan and China signed an settlement on a “three-step roadmap” to expedite negotiations to resolve their festering boundary dispute.
Bhutan shares an over 400-km-long border with China and the 2 international locations have held over 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the dispute.
The Doklam tri-junction is taken into account necessary from the viewpoint of India’s safety pursuits.
The India-China stand-off within the Doklam plateau in 2017 even triggered fears of a conflict between the 2 nuclear-armed neighbours.
Bhutan mentioned the world the place China tried to construct the street belonged to it and India supported the Bhutanese declare.
India had strongly opposed the development of the street on the Doklam tri-junction as it might have impacted its general safety pursuits.
The India-China face-off was resolved following a number of rounds of talks.
NEW DELHI: Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande has met Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and different prime civil and army leaders of Bhutan in Thimphu with a give attention to boosting “enduring” strategic ties.
Gen Pande was on a go to to Bhutan within the backdrop of rising considerations in India over China’s relentless makes an attempt to develop army infrastructure round Bhutanese territory within the Doklam plateau.
People aware of Gen Pande’s engagements in Bhutan mentioned regional defence and safety challenges, Chinese actions within the plateau and adjoining areas and methods to boost bilateral defence cooperation figured in his talks.
The Army Chief’s go to to Bhutan coincided with India’s resolution to authorise the export of 5,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 10,000 metric tonnes of sugar to Bhutan as per Thimphu’s necessities.
Earlier this 12 months, India restricted the export of the 2 commodities to strengthen India’s meals safety.
The Army Chief referred to as on the King on Saturday apart from assembly Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth King of Bhutan.
“General Manoj Pande #COAS called on His Majesty the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and discussed aspects of enhancing the enduring bilateral relationship between the two Nations,” the Army mentioned in a tweet.
It mentioned he was additionally accorded an “impeccable Guard of Honour” at Thimphu.
ALSO READ | New photographs present China has constructed a full-fledged village close to Doklam
The individuals cited above mentioned Gen Pande held in depth talks along with his Bhutanese counterpart Lt General Batoo Tshering on all key points together with the general scenario within the Doklam tri-junction.
In 2017, the Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a 73-day stand-off on the Doklam tri-junction after China tried to increase a street within the space that Bhutan claimed belonged to it.
Gen Pande additionally met with the Indian officers engaged in capacity-building of the Bhutanese army.
India has been considerably extending assist to Bhutan’s armed forces together with in areas of coaching.
The Army Chief’s go to to Bhutan got here days after new satellite tv for pc photographs emerged displaying China setting up a village east of the Doklam plateau on the Bhutanese facet, a area that’s thought of necessary for India’s strategic curiosity.
After the photographs got here out, the Ministry of External Affairs mentioned India retains a relentless watch on all developments having bearing on nationwide safety and takes needed measures to safeguard its pursuits.
In the previous few years, India has been specializing in strengthening its infrastructure alongside the Line of Actual Control (LAC) together with within the Sikkim sector.
In October final 12 months, Bhutan and China signed an settlement on a “three-step roadmap” to expedite negotiations to resolve their festering boundary dispute.
Bhutan shares an over 400-km-long border with China and the 2 international locations have held over 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the dispute.
The Doklam tri-junction is taken into account necessary from the viewpoint of India’s safety pursuits.
The India-China stand-off within the Doklam plateau in 2017 even triggered fears of a conflict between the 2 nuclear-armed neighbours.
Bhutan mentioned the world the place China tried to construct the street belonged to it and India supported the Bhutanese declare.
India had strongly opposed the development of the street on the Doklam tri-junction as it might have impacted its general safety pursuits.
The India-China face-off was resolved following a number of rounds of talks.
