(DCS系統(tǒng))和(機(jī)器人系統(tǒng))及(大型伺服控制系統(tǒng))備件大賣!叫賣!特賣!賣賣賣!
India's influence is everywhere in Bhutan, which has a population of only 770,000 and an area smaller than Switzerland.
Hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops line the narrow streets of Bhutan's capital Thimphu. Apart from the local currency, every business accepts Indian rupees at an exchange rate of 1:1. When the Global Times reporter visited Bhutan last year, India was in the midst of a controversial withdrawal of high value rupee banknotes. Bhutanese businesses also refused to take the withdrawn notes.
Bhutan's laws on tourism stipulate that foreigners can only visit as part of a government-sanctioned tour group or accompanied by a tour guide. The rule, however, doesn't seem to apply to Indians.
When in Bhutan, the Global Times reporter encountered several young men from the southern Indian city of Bangalore, who said they can travel freely in Bhutan. Since India controls Bhutan's foreign policy and national defense, Bhutan does not restrict the country's activities in the country. Many luxurious hotels in Bhutan are run by Indian hotel groups, with their staff all from India.
According to an article written by Sudha Ramachandran of the Jamestown Foundation on Bhutan's relations with China and India, around 79 percent of Bhutan's total imports are from India and India provides a market for 90 percent of its exports. India is Bhutan's biggest donor. India has helped Bhutan with building infrastructure as well, such as hydropower plants.
In terms of the nation's military, an article published in The Hindu said the Indian military is responsible for protecting Bhutan "from the kind of external threat that the Chinese military poses." According to the article, India's Eastern Army Command and the Eastern Air Command both have integrated the protection of Bhutan into their role, and the Indian Military Training Team plays a critical role in training Bhutanese security personnel.
According to an article written by Victor Robert Lee and published in current-affairs magazine The Diplomat, Indian troops were a common sight during his trip to Bhutan in 2014.
"In late October, on the dirt road that winds north from the Bhutanese town of Paro ... I pass an Indian army base of more than 600 soldiers. They are packing up to return to India for the duration of Bhutan's harsh winter months. On the same road just after sunrise, I encounter an Indian Army squad of special forces soldiers…" he wrote. He also noticed approximately 120 Bhutanese soldiers were training with the Indian army.
With its heavy reliance on India, Bhutan has found it hard to gain diplomatic independence. In 1949, India and Bhutan signed the treaty in which Bhutan agreed to let India "guide" its foreign policy.
Sun told the Global Times that Bhutan's subordination to India is a remnant of the British Empire, which controlled Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, which had all previously been vassal states of the Qing Empire (1644-1911), in order to expand its influence in Tibet. In the 1940s, after British rule in South Asia came to an end, India naturally wanted to inherit its assets.
In 2007, as political reform reshaped Bhutan, the Treaty of Friendship between Bhutan and India was revised, and the provision on foreign policy guidance was replaced. However, it still says that Bhutan's foreign relations cannot hurt India's national interests.
Currently, Bhutan hasn't established diplomatic relations with any of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It has forged diplomatic relations with over 50 countries, but only a few, including India, Bangladesh and Kuwait have embassies in Bhutan.