With neighbours like these

Bhutans’s bold military action against the three separatist armed groups from India who set up as many as 30 camps on Bhutanese territory deserves to be commended for at least two reasons. The first is Thimpu’s decision to exercise its sovereign rights to remove armed foreign occupation which had continued to violate Bhutan’s sovereignty, peace and harmony for more than a decade. The presence of groups like the ULFA, NDFB and KLO here is perhaps the first instance in history of armed forces in semi-permanent occupation of a part of Bhutan.

True to its traditions, Bhutan tried to address the problem through dialogue and persuasion. It was only when this process was fully exhausted did it resort to the military option. This has given its action a much higher level of legitimacy than what might have been possible otherwise. In turn, this assumes great importance in relation to the second issue: that of a country taking military action, albeit in its own territory, to eliminate the threat to peace and security of a neighbour. There are risks for Bhutan in its military crackdown. But this only enhances the significance of its actions. That is why India has provided assurances of full support in every possible way, as required by Bhutan, while strictly respecting Bhutanese sovereignty and remaining vigilant within our own territory.

Indeed, what has emerged is a model of regional cooperation that needs to be recognised and promoted. Unlike many occasions when India has provided military assistance to its neighbours at their request, this is perhaps the first time that a tiny mountain kingdom like Bhutan is using its small military force to eliminate the threat to the security and integrity of its much bigger neighbour. There are innumerable steps that South Asian nations can take in ensuring that the spread of militant violence from their respective territories does not threaten the integrity and peace of neighbours. But this requires an acceptance of the fact that peace is a common pre-requisite for human development in the region, which can be effectively achieved by nations exercising their right to secure their domestic sovereignty in pursuit of cooperative security. Bhutan has done precisely this.

Excerpted from an editorial in ‘The Indian Express’, December 17, 2003