India–Bhutan: Defence Infrastructure and Training Cooperation

Defence

Policy Update
Ashutosh Shukla

Geostrategic significance of Bhutan for India

Bhutan, one of the most important countries from a Geostrategic angle, is located between Tibet and North-East India and also to the nearest points of the Chumbi Valley of Tibet, Sikkim and the Eastern borders at the same time the proximity of Bhutan from the Siliguri corridor which is the connecting point of the seven north eastern states of India is crucial for both India and Bhutan. Both Bhutan and India share three strategically sensitive points: Tibet’s Chumbi Valley to the north, Sikkim, and Arunachal. Both India and Bhutan have strategic choke points such as Dochul, Chele La, and Siliguri Corridor. The choke points are crucial to keep a check on each other geostrategically.

India anchoring Bhutan within its security umbrella, India is fortifying both the north east and Bhutan’s north eastern border at the same time. India is fortifying its defence establishment for the future. Bhutan’s stability is crucial to India, which strongly prevents insurgency at a certain level from the insurgent groups like ULFA(United Liberation Front of Asom) and NDFB(National Democratic Front of Bodoland) At the same time, both nations strengthen the BBIN and BIMSTEC(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) networks and their frameworks from both economic and security perspectives. 

Bhutan’s commitment to sovereign governance and to cooperation with India in defence and diplomacy, along with the strong bilateral ties, is important for stability.  The cooperation between India and Bhutan is important because both nations are facing Chinese aggression and expansion. Any kind of Chinese strategic expansion, including roads, rail and military into the territory of Bhutan, can hamper the connection.

At the same time, it can hamper the integrity of India’s northeastern region, as safeguarding Bhutan is a matter of India’s national security.  The foundation of India and Bhutan’s relationship, both diplomatic and defence, rests on two key treaties which have framed strategic alignment. The 1949 treaty of perpetual peace, which granted India a guiding role in Bhutan’s external affairs, at the same time, India plays a significant role in arms import, financial assistance to Bhutan. India provides a military guarantee to Bhutan while without a formal status of a protectorate. The 2007 Bhutan-India Friendship 

The treaty provided the framework to modernise the mutual security guarantee, where both nations pledge not to permit the activities which can harm the national interest of each other and also will not threaten each other’s security. Both the treaties not only expanded in economic and foreign policy areas but also to the defence and security, arms import, providing the extended and extensive bilateral defence mechanism, defence projects such as Project DANTAK, which is linked to the cross-border link and also the Indian Military Training Team, IMTRAT (Indian Military Training Team) The 2007 treaty explicitly focused on mutual respect for the sovereignty and the strategic importance of Bhutan.

India’s Defence Umbrella to Bhutan and Post-Doklam Implications

India has been providing the defence and security umbrella to Bhutan, and defence partnership and cooperation between both nations have been solidified through the treaties, defence infrastructure projects, and military training. The Treaty of perpetual peace and friendship laid the foundation for the Indo-Bhutan defence, foreign relations, giving rights to India to advise on foreign relations and armaments, effectively forming a defence umbrella. The treaty was designed to prevent external threats, especially from China, while ensuring Bhutan’s territorial sovereignty.

During the 2017 Doklam crisis, which was a border standoff triggered by the Chinese road construction on the disputed territory while the standoff took place, India stood with Bhutan. To defend the Siliguri corridor protecting Bhutan is important to India as the distance between the disputed territory and to Siliguri Corridor is less than 30 km, which can hamper the security of India’s northeast.

The border territories of Bhutan serve as the buffer zone. For that reason, the defence guarantee becomes more crucial; to encircle China is crucial for both India and Bhutan and India’s defence cooperation and the defence umbrella somewhere protects the buffer zones while encircling China. Bhutan has high altitude passes such as Dochula (3,150m), Chele La (3,988m), and Rodang La which are crucial for the observation of the Chinese movement and also over the Indian plains the defence cooperation between these two nations becomes crucial with that perspective India along with Bhutan protect the denial of these high-altitude areas becomes more important in terms of protection of the buffer zone. 

India and Bhutan’s defence cooperation and India’s security umbrella to Bhutan becomes important from point of view of internal security of India as the insurgency in northeast India is one of the major issues Stability of Bhutan is crucial to India the indirect support to insurgent groups of Myanmar to insurgent groups of north east India also the illegal migration from Bangladesh is security threat at this point of time India and Bhutan need to be more cautious in terms of internal security and stability.

Bhutan provided India with an early warning, as it serves as a buffer zone and also provides strategic depth to encircle China. The importance of India-Bhutan is such that without Bhutan, the Chinese forces can go deep into Indian territories. Bhutan has good water resources and riverine security. The security cooperation not only safeguards territory but also the rivers which flow into Bhutan, such as Manas, Raidak, and Jaldhaka. The defence program of India prevents the Chinese infrastructure expansion into Bhutan, which is also crucial for the Siliguri Corridor. 

During the Doklam Standoff, India deployed the troops under its Operation Juniper to halt the advancing Chinese infrastructure. Post Doklam, the need and necessity of India to defend Bhutan has increased. India, along with Bhutan, has accelerated the infrastructure development in border areas, also upgraded the Haa-Doklam road and strengthened the joint surveillance on the border areas with increased military training. These efforts have ensured that Bhutan remains less vulnerable to external threats, mainly from China. The cooperation of both nations during the Doklam standoff highlighted the importance of the friendship treaty and India’s defence umbrella.  

Joint defence infrastructure and  Border infrastructure cooperation

India, since the 1960s, with its Border Roads Organisation, has been working in favour of India’s strategic imperatives along the Indian border. BRO has been very instrumental in enhancing the connectivity of Bhutan through DANTAK, by which BRO (Border Road Organisation) constructed more than 1600 km of roads, key highways linking such as Thimphu-Phuentsholing. Also, India has cooperated with Bhutan in the upgradation of the Haa-Doklam highway, which serves as the key strategic route, costing around 254. This route has exemplified the importance of the mobility of military preparedness and readiness, and also for disaster response.

In September 2025, India and Bhutan agreed to set up two cross-border rail links to connect two important cities of Bhutan with Assam and West Bengal, a 69-km Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail line as a Special Railway Project (SRP) with 4033 crore outlay, which strategically and in terms of defence is crucial for both nations.  These infrastructure projects serve as connectivity projects with people-to-people connectivity as well. From a defence point of view, both the rail network and rail network will be designed with the signalling systems to support the rapid dispatch of troops, equipment, and vital energy supplies, also it would help India in future-proofing Northeast India’s border security.   

Defence Training Cooperation -IMTRAT 

Indian Military Training Team, established in August 1962, India’s oldest overseas military presence, the headquarters of IMTRAT is in the high altitude Haa Dzong. IMTRAT has trained more than 10,000 Bhutanese military personnel covering conventional tactics, high altitude mountain warfare, and special operations under pressure circumstances. It also focuses on leadership skills for professional military training. The IMTRAT facilities include a medical complex, a communication training centre and cultural events across key strategic locations. 

These efforts strengthen capacity of Bhutan to self-defence and also reduces the dependency at the same time it ensure India’s security interest in the region and also these security interest remain embedded across all the level of the Bhutanese military and defence domains, more than 10,000 officers has been trained since the year 1962 at the headquarters The IMTRAT has been trained and transformed the Bhutanese military personnels from basic to commissioned officers level, and also provides the physical infrastructure.

External Factors and China’s Role in Shaping Defence Cooperation

India and Bhutan’s defence cooperation has been shaped not only by cooperation and understanding but also by reasons of the external factors, one of the factors is the Chinese presence near the Indo-Bhutan borders, which has as a significant external driver which since decades influenced India-Bhutan defence relations. Beijing, which has proposed the territory swap to Bhutan, which alarmed both New Delhi and Thimphu.

Chinese ongoing projects in Tibet, nearing the Indo-Bhutan border and also near India’s strategic Siliguri Corridor, as well as the railway expansion of China in Tibet, which China is extending with the Quinghai-Tibet railway to Yadong and further nearing the India-Bhutan border areas, these actions from China pose a great military threat to India and Bhutan.

China, in the past, already had claims over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, which has heightened security concerns. To counterbalance this Chinese influence, India has been accelerating the infrastructure upgrade, which has enhanced surveillance and deepened military cooperation post-Doklam standoff. Beyond Dragon, other actors such as Bangladesh, Nepal have also leveraged India’s transit networks, which have made the entire security network complex. 

Not only this India’s efforts to fortify Bhutan’s defence posture driven by the necessity to prevent Chinese penetration into India-Bhutan borders, but the existing construct of the String of Pearls, BRI, and CPEC also undermine the Chinese ambitions, which both India and Bhutan seek as threat and also both India and Bhutan trying to counterbalance through defence and military cooperation with substantial infrastructure development.

Agreements and Treaties and Post-Doklam Initiatives 

Both the treaties of 1949 and 2007 serve as the backbone of the Indo-Bhutan defence cooperation, with military exchange and enhancement, and infrastructure collaboration. All these agreements include the provision for joint capacity building, training, exercise and intelligence sharing, surveillance and border patrols and equipment sharing. India provides Bhutanese Armed Forces training as well as small arms such as Indian Small Arms System rifles, Bren-mags, FN MAG machine guns and also heavy weaponry, anti-aircraft guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons. This equipment is provided in the form of grants.

The IMTRAT training setup has also been expanded to include advanced courses in cyber security, unmanned systems, and electronic warfare. All these weapons and support enable the Bhutanese military to modernise and enhance its capabilities in high altitude and asymmetric threats. India expanded its border roads, proposed a railway network which serves a dual military and civil purpose. These actions by India are done post-Doklam events. 

Future Prospects, Challenges, and Opportunities

The Indo-Bhutan defence relations, as well as cooperation, have been evolving from a protectorate model into a special defence relation which is interlinked with mutual strategic needs. The emerging domains of defence and border regions offer growth for both nations. Both nations have established a mutual defence relationship and also extended the conventional defence partnership into a new model of partnership, such as the Cyber Security Centre in Thimphu, which expanded the IMTRAT curriculum. Both India and Bhutan have been developing the dual-use infrastructure at the same time. India and Bhutan agreed to build the first rail network in the border areas. 

The new rail network can open the doors for expanded BBIN and BIMSTEC corridors for trade facilities, which can amplify regional trade and connectivity, while maintaining the defence-related issues would be a challenge.

However in this defence cooperation challenges also persist one of the major challenge is Chinese aggression and encroachment and pressure tactics which both India and Bhutan need to tackle Doklam crisis and Sakteng Wildlife  Sanctuary claims are one the example Another challenge is Bhutan’s, Northeastern India’s geography which majorly consist of forest areas and hilly terrain where infrastructure building is a challenge in which balancing the environmental and defence prospectus is challenge for both nations. Bhutan’s economic dependency on India and its military capacity are also challenges. 

Conclusion

India’s longstanding defence support to Bhutan has been instrumental to both nations. This support is rooted in strategic necessity and shared mutual interest as well as national security. Through these treaties and infrastructure projects, military training, capacity building in defence, and equipment sharing, both India and Bhutan have established a framework and mechanism to safeguard Bhutan from external aggression and also to protect the Siliguri Corridor by deterring Chinese expansion near the border areas.

China, which occupies Tibet, is a threat to regional security, and in future it will try to occupy the territories of Bhutan and India. India’s engagement with Bhutan is crucial for regional stability. The cooperation between both nations must adapt and embrace all the domains relating to regional security as well as national security, such as cybersecurity, dual-use infrastructure, defence infrastructure, along green infrastructure. Such kind of comprehensive cooperation can ensure the Indo-Bhutan border stability.  

References 

About the Author

Ashutosh Shukla is a Research Intern at IMPRI, with a Master’s in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the University of Mumbai. His research interests include foreign policy, diplomacy, and International Relations.

Acknowledgment: The author sincerely thanks the IMPRI team for their valuable support.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organization.

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