Bhutan plays it safe with neighbors
By Vishal Arora
THIMPHU, Bhutan – Three years into power, the first democratic government of Bhutan is treading cautiously as it leads the tiny land-locked Himalayan kingdom tucked between the two Asian rivals, India and China. Thimphu’s geopolitical concerns seem to be a key component of its foreign relations as well as domestic policy.
“Our policy is that even though we do not as yet have formal diplomatic relations with most countries in the world, we establish and develop the friendliest of relations,” Prime Minister Jigmi Yoser Thinley told Asia Times Online.
Bhutan is the only country in South Asia that has never made an attempt to counterbalance New Delhi’s influence by giving a foothold to China. While Thimphu does not have diplomatic relations with China, it does not provoke Beijing either.