BHUTAN READY FOR PRAGMATIC, IF NOT FORMAL,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002911

SIPDIS

PASS TO DOD/OSD-POLICY MR.JAMES CLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2018
TAGS: BH IN KDEM MARR NP ODIP PBTS PGOV PHUM PREF
PREL, PTER, SOCI
SUBJECT: BHUTAN READY FOR PRAGMATIC, IF NOT FORMAL,
RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES

Classified By: Ambassador David C. Mulford for Reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met former King Jigme Singye
Wangchuck and Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley, during his
November 5-7 visit to Bhutan to attend the coronation of King
Jigme Keshar Namgyal Wangchuck as Bhutan's new king. The
former King expressed pessimism about the new government in
Nepal but believed Bhutan could work with it provided Nepal
did not revert back to instability. On formal diplomatic
relations with the United States, the former King stated his
gorernment thinks now is not the right time to establish
ties, since Bhutan is focusing on resolving its "demarcation"
issue with the Chinese. However, he asserted Bhutan's
willingness to expand informal contacts with the United
States. For the most part, Prime Minister Thinley's views
reflected those held by the former King, but the PM was more
optimistic about his ability to work with the new Nepali
government. End Summary.

Former Bhutanese King Concerned About Nepal
--------------


2. (C) Ambassador Mulford had an opportunity to briefly meet
Bhutan's new and fifth King, Jigme Keshar Namgyal Wangchuk,
during the impressive and memorable November 5-7 coronation
ceremony in Thimphu. The new king assured the Ambassador of
his strong commitment to the democratic process in Bhutan and
the continuing development of the Himalayan nation into a
stable democracy. In a private meeting with Bhutan's former
King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, who engineered Bhutan's
transition to a constitutional monarchy, the Ambassador had a
warm and lengthy discussion on a host of issues. (Note: The
coronation ceremony was the pinnacle of the process initiated
by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk in 1984. In December 2006, he
abdicated the throne in favor of his son, the new King.) The
former King and the Ambascador discussed the future of Nepal
in great detail. The former King held a pessimistic view of
Nepal's future stability, believing it remains unclear at
this time whether the new Maoist government in Kathmandu can
hold itself together and maintain its democratic base of
support. If it can, he averred, then Prachanda is a man with
whom Bhutan can work. If instead, Prachanda reverts back to
old Maoist techniques and instability takes hold in Nepal,
the former King confided his concern about Bhutan's security
and the potential for Maoist subversion, especially by
exploiting those in refugee camps.


3. (C) The Ambassador told the former King the USG has been
working to admit into the USA a significant portion of the
60,000 refugees the U.S. has committed itself to accept. So
far, the U.S. has processed approximately 6000 refugees and
expects to process a further 15,000 in 2009. The former King
said he was deeply impressed as well as thankful for the
generosity and commitment shown by the United States. The
Ambassador emphasized our objective is to obtain an early
closure of the camps by working with other nations to accept
refugees. The former King expressed his thanks for the USG
and State Department's efforts across-the-board, and the
Ambassador replied that though Bhutan is small, it is worthy
of U.S. recognition for how it peacefully transitioned to
democracy. The former King assured the Ambassador of Bhutan's
continued support to the United States at the UN and other
multilateral fora.

And Pragmatic on Diplomatic Relations with the United States
--------------


4. (C) The Ambassador and former King turned to the matter of
advancing formal diplomatic relations between the United
States and Bhutan. The former King said that Bhutan's policy
is to move carefully in expanding formal diplomatic relations
with the P-5 of the UN Security Council, because of
"demarcation" problems with China. The former King
emphasized that the issue with the Chinese is not a
conventional border dispute but is instead one solely
relating to demarcating a rugged border. He remained
confident that if an appropriate international commission
were appointed, it would have no choice but to come to the
conclusion that the territory in question was never
historically under the control or use of Tibet, the basis for
China's claim. The Bhutanese government is committed to
achieving progress on this matter with China over the next
three years and does not believe it prudent to begin

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establishing formal diplomatic relations with the P-5 nations
during this period, since moves in this direction could
be perceived as provocative by China.


5. (C) However, the former King stressed Bhutan is open to
expanding informal contacts with the United States such as
USAID projects and strengthening consular relations in
whatever manner the USG thinks best. The Ambassador replied
that one Bhutanese national already participates in the
U.S.-India Fulbright program and perhaps we could consider
increasing the number of slots for Bhutanese nationals since
the Fulbright program is expanding in India. The former King
expressed thanks for the USG's extension of visas to two
years for Bhutanese students and said he would appreciate
anything the USG could do to help further decrease the
hardship and expenses Bhutanese students face when applying
for visas to the United States.

Bhutan's PM Shares Identical Views, Except on Nepal
--------------


6. (C) The Ambassador also privately met PM Jigme Y. Thinley.
They touched upon the same topics that were discussed in the
Ambassador's meeting with the former King. The PM's views
reflected those of the former king except in one important
respect; on Nepal, PM Thinley expressed greater optimism in
his government's ability to work with Nepali PM Prachanda and
his Maoist government.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Post understands SCA Assistant Secretary Boucher plans
to visit Bhutan in December. We recommend A/S Boucher
explore with his Bhutanese interlocutors ways to creatively
expand our informal relations with the kingdom.

MULFORD