It may be stated at the outset that this essay is essentially an attempt to identify some critical commonalities in the approaches of Sun Zi and Kautilya, the two profound strategists of the ancient Orient, one belonging to China and the other to India, and who exercised considerable influence for centuries that followed in their respective countries.
The Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan is in sharp focus now. This is due to two critical factors: Bhutan's assertion of its identity and Beijing's tactics in the Himalayan region. Both factors have had an impact in the ordering of Indo-Bhutanese relations.
