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The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between China and Bhutan on Accelerating the "Three-Step" Roadmap for China-Bhutan Border Negotiations may seem like a small diplomatic move, but it actually contains huge geostrategic implications.
This memorandum of understanding is not only a friendly cooperation between China and Burkina Faso, but also aims to stabilize the regional situation and balance India's interference in the China-Cuba border dispute. For Bhutan, this is an important geopolitical bellwether.
Although Bhutan has a limited territory, its geographical location is extremely important. Sandwiched between the two major neighbors of China and India, its geostrategic position is irreplaceable. Bhutan has long lived in the shadow of India.
To better understand this event, we can look back at the complex historical relationship between Bhutan and India.
During the period of British India, Bhutan has been a close partner of India. During that period, India and Bhutan were both British colonies and could almost be considered brothers. However, India's relations with Bhutan during this period were more about satisfying the interests of the British colonizers. Britain consolidated its territory in the Indian subcontinent by controlling Bhutan against Russia and China.
The British colonialist strategy was ingenious, giving semi-independent powers to intermediate countries such as Bhutan while firmly controlling them militarily, using them as strategic buffers. In fact, these countries became tools of Britain, only to decorate the appearance of democracy, and Britain was primarily concerned with defending its own strategic interests.
In a secret communication in 1908, the British colonial government in India explicitly stated: "Our only task at present is to prevent China from establishing influence in Bhutan..."
After independence, India inherited the influence of the Anglo-Indian period and saw itself as the successor of the British Empire, playing a dominant role in South Asia. In 1946, when a Bhutanese delegation visited India, the then constitutional adviser to the Indian government demanded that relations between the British and Indian governments and Bhutan be maintained. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Permanent Peace and Friendship, which institutionally preserved the core relationship between the British and Indian governments and Bhutan. The treaty stipulates that the Government of India will not interfere in the internal affairs of Bhutan, but requires the Government of Bhutan to accept the guidance of the Government of India in foreign affairs and stipulates that Bhutan may import arms and ammunition from India only with the assistance and consent of India.
It can be said that India has continued its influence over Bhutan in the economic and defense fields, continuing the policy of the United Kingdom.
However, after the end of the Cold War, India's regional leadership declined rapidly, mainly because India's strategic position during the Cold War weakened and its voice weakened accordingly. Despite this, Bhutan continues to align itself with India on a range of international and regional issues, and even after India's nuclear test in 1998, Bhutan continued to support India, while criticizing the international community's discriminatory nature of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Bhutan has even advocated India becoming a permanent member of the United Nations.
However, Bhutan paid a price for supporting India, which abandoned some unequal treaties in exchange for Bhutan's support.
So, what about the future?
History is constantly moving forward, and the international situation is constantly evolving. Although a country cannot reverse the tide of history, Bhutan has taken a step on the road to independent development, and its influence from India has gradually weakened.
While it is unlikely to completely overturn its diplomatic strategy, Bhutan has gained greater strategic flexibility. Will the landscape of South Asia change? Bhutan could be a key factor in this change.
In short, the memorandum signed by China is not only a diplomatic agreement, but also an important piece in the geopolitical chess game. Bhutan will continue to play an important role in South Asia, and its geographical significance cannot be ignored. Over time, we will see the evolution of the situation in the region and Bhutan's role in it.
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