They are the two Asian giants with deep regional and international interests and perspectives. Rivalry between the Asian giants is not surprising; this is the cult dogging all big and outreaching countries. Great Britain and France, the US and Soviet Union and China and Russia are the examples of how big power diplomacy has dimensions and nuances. However, matured and more far-sighted powers usually don’t close all doors of some measure of relationship. We will recall that at one time, India was very close to grab the UN Security Council seat but withdrew in favour of China for the simple reason that India wanted to change the history of bilateral relations between giant countries. Looking in retrospect we call that gesture unjustifiable. India had to pay the price for being too idealistic.
Our Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry is in Beijing attending the BRICS as China has taken over from India the chairmanship of this meeting. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), the emerging and influential powers are meeting under China’s chairmanship to script the Agenda for the summit meeting as was decided last year in Goa meet. The main agenda of the BRICS appears to be the issue of containment of terrorism globally. However, the BRICS meeting provided opportunity for our State Minister to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing and recall the roadmap chalked out by Prime Minister Modi and President XI in Astana, Kazakhstan where they had met on June 8-9 in the SCO meet. It appears that the two leaders during their meeting on the sidelines of Astana meeting had carried ahead their intention of strengthening bilateral relations in a number of fields. In the Astana meet, India was granted permanent membership as she had been only attending as an observer so far. India took this gesture in good stead and naturally was prompted to talk to China on more issues of immediate bilateral interest.
In his address, V.K. Singh, our Minister of State in the MEA dropped many hints that India was willing to talk on all issues that have become irritants in relations with China. It has to be understood that China’s Indian policy hinges on two basics namely rival India’s influence in the region and pin down India by providing crutches to Pakistan so that it continues with its proxy war against India. This is cheap and unprincipled diplomacy but we cannot wish it away China is so much unprincipled that it has no qualms of conscience when she opposed India’s proposal in the Security Council to designate the main culprit of Mumbai carnage Masood Azhar the chief of Jaish terror organization.. This is despite the fact that China is also facing terrorism in Xinjiang province where Beijing has imposed many restrictions on Uighur Sunni Muslim population from performing their normal religious duties like keeping fast and offering five times prayer. China is claiming Arunachal Pradesh arguing that McMahon Line was drawn arbitrarily by the British colonialists. But as long as British were in India, China never raised the issue as vociferously as she has done in post independence period. Not only has that she also in 1961 led an incursion into Arunachal. On Kashmir, though outwardly China feigned neutrality but actually she has grabbed Indian Territory in Aksai chin in connivance with Pakistan. She is issuing visa to the Kashmiris on a separate sheet of paper to convey message to the world that he does not recognize Indian sovereignty over Kashmir.
These are major irritants in our relations with China. She is opposing our entry into NSG. It is good that the two sides will be talking about China’s ambitious project of One Border One Belt as part of CPEC and India should not mince words in bringing home to China the security threat perspective of India about the CPEC. Large scale presence of PLA personnel in Gilgit and Askardu under the cover of helping Pakistan build infrastructure is seen by India as a challenge to the security of her northern border. China has the age old habit of crating tension on the borders and lay claim to large chunks of land for one or the other reason. But China has to remember that India is not a small country like Japan or Vietnam or South Korea who can be intimidated by sword rattling. In final analysis, we must make it clear to the policy planners in New Delhi that we shall have to handle China with deft hands and leave nothing to chance. China has tremendous capacity of speaking soft but diplomatic and she has mastered the art of double speak so that what she says has one meaning for the listener and another meaning for herself. Several summits are scheduled for the weeks and months to come and Indian and Chinese top ranking officials and leaders will be meeting with one another. It is possible that continuous talk behind the; public gaze might help in reducing tension between the two countries to some degree if not all which is a distant dream.
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