The new Indian envoy Gautam H Bambawale on Tuesday presented his credentials to President Xi Jinping at a ceremony to welcome newly appointed ambassadors to the People’s Republic of China. A 1984-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, Bambawale has served in China before. While Pakistan is China’s “iron-clad friend”, Bhutan doesn’t have diplomatic ties with Beijing and is the only country, besides India, to have an unresolved land border with China. Early this year, Indian and Chinese troops were in two-month-long standoff in the Doklam plateau, claimed by both Bhutan and China. The new Indian envoy can expect a busy time ahead as both sides continue protracted negotiations to resolve the festering border dispute.

Source: Hindustan Times December 05, 2017 09:00 UTC