GUWAHATI: In 1999, the then king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, had warned India of pressures from China.
This has been claimed by former chief of Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) – AS Daulat in his book.
Dulat says the former King’s words were ‘prophetic’ about India-China tensions in Doklam in 2017 and the build-up of infrastructure by China that followed, The Hindu reported.
He also says that New Delhi’s “muscular policy” on a range of issues, including the situation in Kashmir, and tough foreign policy in the neighbourhood led to ‘failures’.
Dulat, who visited Thimphu for three days in 1999, spent time with the then king, known as “K4”.
“Democracy is coming sooner rather than later. But [the Indian establishment] is making things a little difficult for us. The Chinese are breathing down our necks,” Dulat paraphrases the former Bhutan King as telling him during his visit.
Daulat added that the King was convinced the problems with China would “only increase” if India ‘pushed’ Bhutan too much.
“The old King [Jigme Singye Wangchuck] was a sharp man, and looking back, his remarks have been prophetic,” Dulat writes in the memoirs.