Tuesday’s meeting between Army Chief Gen. Manoj Pande and Royal Bhutan Army Chief Operations Officer Lt Gen. Batoo Tshering appeared to examine ways to improve bilateral military ties as China continues to develop its infrastructure surrounding Bhutanese territory on the Doklam plateau.
According to officials, the two commanders talked on the evolving regional security situation as well as a number of crucial elements of India-Bhutan defence cooperation.
After Gen Pande’s travel to Bhutan three months ago, Lt Gen Tshering is now in New Delhi.
The Royal Bhutan Army’s Chief Operations Officer, Lieutenant General Batoo Tshering, was greeted by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Manoj Pande, and they discussed ways to further their defence cooperation, the Army stated in a tweet.
The Bhutanese commander laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in memory of the dead soldiers. A guard of honour was also provided for him on the South Block lawns.
The Doklam plateau is thought to be an important strategic turning point for India. In 2017, when China sought to expand a road across territory that Bhutan claimed, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a 73-day standoff at the Doklam tri-junction.
India had vehemently opposed the construction, asserting that it would jeopardise its interests in general security. The India-China standoff was resolved after several rounds of negotiations.
In order to hasten negotiations to settle their unresolved boundary dispute, Bhutan and China signed a “three-step roadmap” agreement in October of last year.
In an effort to settle the border dispute, Bhutan and China have held over 24 rounds of boundary talks along their shared 400-kilometer border.
