The transgression into Bhutan- China Doklam by Indian Army was for 72 days and possibly covered several tent areas of non- descript land space. Now the after impact is ripplling into 2019 Indian General Election.
The 2017 Doklam transgression by Indian Army chilled Bhutan to frozen silence. There are no friends. Only vultures eyeing tiny Druk Yul.
Recently Rahul Sharma of BJP says " through diplomacy, China bowed down " at Doklam.
Rahul Gandhi of Congress says " the truth is that Chinese are still at Doklam ". Meaning Chinese forces had not bowed down but instead very much settled down at Doklam.
The fact is that last year from June to August for around 72 days, Indian Army as a result of its transgressive act, got fixated to the pressure cooker spot. It's ordeal ended when India managed to negotiate with China a clean and quiet withdrawal from Doklam.
Externally, the three nations Bhutan, China and India act like that all are back to normal but the tri- nations can never be the same in spirit since the June, 2017 transgression. China and India are back to the status of silent state of war across borders. The Indo- Bhutan supposed tree of 50 year friendship has been transplanted upside down courtesy Doklam storm. . Druk Yul and her reverred institution of Monarchy stood betrayed as half a century trusted friend and generous donar India marched her Army into Doklam to declare war on China from Bhutanese soil.
Only through the grace of the Deities of Bhutan, the status-quo of prior June transgression, was regained after Indian Army withdrew at the end of August. But for 72 days , the Kingdom was psyed to the edge of paralysis state.
That was Bhutan last year through Doklam experience. Today Indian media and political scene reverberates in loud echoes of that ill fated and ill advised Doklam venture. And everything suggest Doklam storm blowing into 2019 General Election of India. Regrettable situation.
Funnily, the Indian online media had represented the Doklam standoff on Bhutanese soil from 16 June to August 28, 2017 as a great diplomatic victory for Bharat Mata which allegedly combined strategic patience with strategic firmness to force the Middle Kingdom to back off, and in the process - they asserted - that President Xi Jinping had to scamper off with his tail between his two legs. Henceforth, PM Modi would walk tall on the world's diplomatic stage while President Xi would hide somewhere to lick his wounds. The Indian press failed to acknowledge that negotiations for the withdrawal deal was conducted principally in Beijing, not New Delhi. Indian NSA Ajit Doval and former Foreign Secretary S. Jaishanker had to make several trips to the Dragon's capital to reach a deal in time for PM Modi to attend the BRICS' summit meeting in Xiamen in the first week of September 2017. Evidently, President Xi Jinping had given his stamp of approval for the withdrawal of troops by both sides as barely a month after the Xiamen summit he was scheduled to be given a second five-year term as China's President at the CCP's 19th National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People in mid-October. In the weeks leading to these two events, Xi highly treasured social stability and harmony in his People's Republic. Even China's stock exchange and financial markets were not allowed to fluctuate beyond a certain range during that time. In a way, PM Modi was fortunate to have secured a negotiated deal before the BRICS summit kicked in. Also, the Indian army chief, General Bipin Rawat, tried to psyche the Dragon by bragging that India was capable of fighting a 3-front war (meaning Pakistan, China and terrorism) simultaneously and yet could win. But his bragging rights were somewhat dented by the Auditor-General of India's revelation that Bharat Mata only had ammunition supplies for not more than 10 days' continuous fighting. This army chief also claimed that India would comfortably best the Dragon if the standoff in Doklam turned into a shooting war, simply because Indian troops occupied higher positions on the plateau. Perhaps he failed to appreciate that the nimble-footed Dragon could simultaneously initiate multiple-pronged attacks at countless number of points along the 4,057 km long Line of Actual Control. Bharat Mata politicians' claim of a huge diplomatic victory over Beijing is indeed a tragic comedy. Even the New York Times' report on August 28, 2017 stated that five hours after the Indian troops' withdrawal, the Chinese soldiers still remained at the spot of the 73-day standoff, although they did belatedly withdrew and continued to patrol the same general area just as they did before the incident. Sadly, the jingoistic Indian media and ruling politicians claimed that Bhutan was completely behind the Indian muscular action, although Thimphu was very quiet (except for the diplomatic demarche to China) throughout this most unfortunate episode.
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