Sino-Indian
relations a year after Doklam
Anil
Bhat
The bilateral visit of China’s State Councilor and Defence
Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe to India from 21- 24 August 2018 was marked by
extensive discussions between him and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as
well as Defence ministry and Army officials.
With this visit coming a year since Doklam’s bilateral
resolution, and events thereafter, a look back is relevant.
On
March 24, 2018, India's ambassador to China, Gautam Bambawale, reportedly denied
reports of Chinese military stepping up the infrastructure in the disputed area
of Doklam and added that the status quo in the area did not change.
On
the issue of the standoff, he said that it happened because Beijing tried to
alter the status-quo. However, on March 26, 2018, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Hua Chunying said that Doklam belongs to China and India
should have learned lessons from the stand-off last year. The Chinese republic
also claimed that its activities in the area are within its sovereign rights
and there is no such thing as changing status quo. Then came the “informal” summit of Narendra Modi and Xi
Jinping in Wuhan, which was expected to stabilise the two nations'
relationship.
On
April 26, 2018, China's military spokesman, Col. Wu Qian reportedly, told the
media in Beijing, "It is the common expectation of both peoples to stabilise relations
between the Chinese and Indian armed forces and maintain peace and tranquility
at the border areas."
The Wuhan summit happened almost
immediately after India’s
maiden participation the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) 15th Defence Ministers
Meeting held at Beijing on April 24, 2018.
Speaking at this meet Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India’s keen interest in developing an
expanded partnership with the broader Eurasian region. India sought to build on
long-standing ties of deep mutual trust and confidence with Russia, vibrant
historical and cultural linkages with countries of Central Asia and closer
development partnership with China and to further enhance and deepen ties with
all member countries for mutual benefit.
Mrs. Sitharaman said India would
work with SCO partners to energize and revitalize age-old ties of affinity with
countries of the region. She sought a forward-looking partnership based on
robust dialogue and concrete initiatives to enhance economic, trade and
cultural cooperation and mutually beneficial interactions on defence and
security matters.
As an SCO member, India sees itself in a
position to play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the
region. It is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the
SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals
with issues relating to security
and defence.
Some
basic essentials that India considers
most important are peace on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), without
the almost daily border dispute issues, fair trade ties, ruffle-free
politico-diplomatic relations and
good/social, business, cultural and educational exchanges.
For India and China, two large
neighbours sharing very long borders, it simply does not make any sense to be
involved in frequent dissent across the borders and enhancing the arms race. It
will be of great benefit to peoples of both China and India if the former
sincerely shifts from its hegemonic tendency to focus on trade, technical
cooperation and all other mentioned progressive pursuits.
Considering the Chinese renewal of
activity in at least North Doklam and intrusions in other sectors, in retrospect,
the Wuhan meet leaves doubts about China’s and India’s serious intent.
Certainly, China is aiming at greater engagement with India, borne out by
India’s raised status in the SCO, but does not seem to be serious about abating
its intrusions or meaningfully resolving the border issues.
It remains to be seen if the recent Defence Ministers’ meet
and military hotline etc will have any significant effect.
The author, a former
Defence Ministry and Indian Army spokesperson and strategic analyst, can be
contacted at wordsword02@yahoo.com
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