Diplomacy

Beyond Doklam: Modi hopeful of ‘positive’ BRICS summit

- by Manish Chand

The resolution of the Doklam border standoff between India and China appears to have paved the way for a successful BRICS summit in Xiamen, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing that he was looking forward to “productive discussions and positive outcomes that will support the agenda of a stronger BRICS partnership under the chairmanship of China.”
I also look forward to productive discussions and positive outcomes that will support the agenda of a stronger BRICS partnership under the chairmanship of China,” the Indian leader said.
In his message, Mr Modi underscored the importance of BRICS as a force for upholding world peace, a veiled reference to the potential and role of the BRICS grouping as a platform for easing tensions between member countries.
The 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen will mark the beginning of another decade of BRICS, with Chinese President Xi Jinping promising “a golden decade” of BRICS. The Xiamen summit is expected to culminate in a vision statement for consolidation and expansion of the BRICS to entrench it as the most influential forum of emerging economies and South-South cooperation.
Looking ahead, it seems the two emerging countries have decided to compartmentalize their bilateral relations and cooperation in pluralistic and multilateral forums like BRICS. In this regard, PM Modi’s bilateral talks with his Chinese host Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit will be crucial in mapping the way forward for this conflict-prone relationship between Asia’s leading economies.

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Bolstering Brics: Mapping New Pathways

- by H.H.S. Viswanathan

The 8th BRICS Summit in Goa marked the 15th anniversary of an idea proposed in 2001. However, BRICS as a grouping has grown into something much wider and deeper in the intervening 15 years. South Africa was added to the group in 2011, enlarging it from four members to five. In terms of agenda and areas of interest also, BRICS has had a very successful evolution.
What does the future trajectory of BRICS look like? Will it continue to grow in strength and influence? Will some of the strategic competition between the members make it less effective? What will be the impact of the serious economic slowdown on three of the five members? Can BRICS make a lasting contribution in areas like Sustainable Development and Global Governance? These are some of the questions faced by the five countries. A medium and long-term vision is needed to take the group forward.
For India, apart from the gains emanating from intra-BRICS cooperation, there is a visible additionality to the country’s global clout. There are areas in global governance where India by itself cannot bring about changes. However, BRICS as a platform has the potential to do this. A multi-polar or polycentric world of the future is more likely to have these kinds of groupings as the centres of influence, rather than individual countries, and that is where the value of BRICS lies.

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Diplomacy resolves Doklam crisis: India China to expedite troops withdrawal

- by Manish Chand

Diplomacy has prevailed over hysteria and war-mongering as India and China have agreed to an “expeditious” mutual withdrawal of troops at the Doklam plateau on the Sikkim border, ending an over two month standoff that was threatening to escalate into a military conflict.
The resolution of the Doklam standoff has set a positive tone for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China to attend the 9th BRICS summit in the coastal city of Xiamen on September 3-5. Going forward, one can expect a constructive bilateral meeting between Mr Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit which could map the way ahead for shaping a positive narrative of India-China relations.
“…expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going,” said India’s external affairs ministry in a terse statement on August 28.
This is, however, not a time for grandstanding as both India and China will emerge as winners if they are able to seize the Dolkam crisis as a precursor for initiating a sustained and multi-layered dialogue to take a long-view of their relationship to resolve other contentious issues that have clouded their relationship in recent years. In this regard, the Modi-Xi meeting in Xiamen will show the way forward for building a largely harmonious and cooperative relationship, without glossing over difficult issues that will continue to shadow this challenging relationship between the two Asian giants.

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Ram Rahim mob killings: Violence in name of faith unacceptable, says Modi

- by India Writes Network

The senseless violence and carnage engineered by followers of the self-styled godman and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim has elicited nation-wide outrage, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi sternly warning that “any person or group of people “taking the law in their hands will not be spared.”
In his radio programme entitled, “Mann ki Baat,” on August 26, Mr Modi said that any person or group of people “taking the law in their hands will not be spared.” Two days after the followers of Ram Rahim unleashed orchestrated violence in Panchkula and neighbouring districts, following his conviction in rape cases, Mr Modi sent out a no-nonsense message, saying that violence in the name of faith is unacceptable.
“India is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Buddha. Violence is not acceptable in the nation, in any form,” said the prime minister. “I want to assure my countrymen that people who take the law into their own hands and are on the path of violent suppression – whether it is a person or a group – neither this country nor any government will tolerate it. Each and every person will have to abide by the law; the law will fix accountability and the guilty will unquestionably be punished,” he said.

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THE INDIA-CHINA RELATIONSHIP: NEAR TERM PROSPECTS

- by India Writes Network

The presence of strong leaders like Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi opens up the possibilities of path-breaking initiatives that could benefit both countries and transform the geo-political landscape in the region. Given China’s military and economic strength and assertive territorial claims, it will be up to Beijing to initiate the first steps.

India-China relations are presently at a critical stage. The decisions and events of the next 2-5 years will be crucial and could mark a new phase in the relationship. At the same time the flux in geostrategic alignments in the world, caused by the potential shift in the global balance of power to the East, have got accentuated with the election in November 2016 of Donald Trump as the 45th US President and consequent uncertainty about his policies.

The almost simultaneous emergence of strong, new leaders, namely Xi Jinping in China, Narendra Modi in India and Shinzo Abe in Japan, has injected an element of competition in the region. All three are pragmatic leaders with a track record of being decisive and a capacity to take bold decisions.
Ties between India and China are, presently, marked by mutual suspicion. Given China’s military and economic strength and assertive territorial claims, it will be up to Beijing to initiate the first steps. Thus far, Xi Jinping has shown no sign of taking such an initiative.

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