THE SINO-INDIAN BORDER CONFLICT IN BHUTAN

August 2, 2017

India and China have a long history of border disputes, which is not unexpected from two growing world powers with thousands of miles of shared borders. The basis for most of their conflicting claims date back to a time when India was still part of the United Kingdom and China was still ruled by a Qing emperor. These disputes have periodically devolved into clashes and, on one notable month-long occasion in 1962, war. As the two countries have developed and grown as global powers, so too has their ability to use diplomatic means to resolve these disputes. For example, in the spring of 2015, the two countries were able to defuse a border dispute in the Ladakh region through a series of talks. India and China have decades of experience deescalating border disputes, so why are they struggling now?

Chinese foreign policy is deliberate. Each move is intended to project their power to the world, ensure domestic stability, and secure party power. The escalation of border tensions in this area was not inevitable, but likely a carefully planned and executed move to further Chinese policy objectives. This particular dispute is not a new one. China and Bhutan do not even have official diplomatic relations due in part to their inability to agree on boundaries for their shared borders. Although a border dispute focused on an area only a couple of square kilometers in size may seem inconsequential, analysis of the situation, and the timing, can give us insight into China’s larger goals and shed light on their international, domestic, and party objectives.

In order to analyze China’s objectives in this situation it is necessary to understand a complicating factor, the involvement of a third party, the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of