Ahead of Modi-Li meet, India, China focus on upgrade of security, counter-terror cooperation

KUALA LUMPUR: Ahead of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in the Malaysian capital, the two Asian giants have taken a defining step to upgrade their security and counter-terror cooperation, which has acquired an added urgency in the backdrop of the Paris terror attacks and the growing scourge of the Islamic State.

In a first major step to augment security cooperation, India and China have agreed to set up a ministerial mechanism to link India’s Home Ministry with China’s Ministry of Public Security. The ministerial mechanism will encompass intelligence- sharing, an exchange of information on terrorists’ activities, law enforcement, cyber-crimes, trans-border crimes and drug trafficking.

The decision to set up the mechanism was taken during Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s meetings with China’s Public Security Minister Guo Sheng Kun in Beijing on November 19. Mr Singh also called upon Prime Minister Li Keqiang, with both agreeing on the need to evolve a framework agreement to upgrade their security cooperation. In Beijing, India’s ambassador to China Ashok Kantha said that a decision has been taken on “an exchange of information on terrorist activities, terrorist groups and linkages”

The new security mechanism will be headed by the two home/internal security ministers, who will be assisted by a “working-level group”, led by a Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Home Affairs, and an officer of the rank of Director General from the Ministry of Public Security.

Modi-Li meet in Malaysia

Rajnath Singh’s meetings in China have set the stage for the first talks between Mr Modi and the Chinese premier in Kuala Lumpur since they last met in Beijing in May. Enhancing security and counter-terror cooperation will figure prominently in the talks. The two leaders are also expected to review the progress in key focus areas identified during Mr Modi’s landmark visit to China in May, which include, among others, China setting up industrial parks in India, smart cities and enhanced involvement of Chinese companies in bolstering infrastructure in India.

Police Training

Mr. Singh, who began his visit to China from November 18, also met Fan Jingyu, the ruling Communist Party of China’s Secretary of the University unit and discussed issues relating to training of the police officers. India is experiencing greater pressure than China in countering terrorism following several deadly attacks, Wang Dehua, director of the Institute for Southern and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Center for International Studies said in a report published in the influential state-run Global times.

According to the report, India has asked China to share its strategy in dealing with terror activities in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Separatists in Xinjiang, bordering disputed Kashmir, are believed to have certain links with terrorists in Kashmir, according to the Indian government. The rise of the Islamic State and the increase in terror attacks by the group worldwide has fuelled security concerns for India.

“The Indian government is worried that the Islamic State (IS) may open a branch in the country, posing another threat to its anti-terror work,” Mr Wang said.

Bolstering cooperation in security, Mr Singh discussed issues relating to training of the police officers. Training in security-related issues is set to be an important area of future cooperation between the two emerging Asian powers that are incrementally widening their arc of convergence despite their decades-old boundary dispute.

Author Profile

Manish Chand

Manish Chand is Founder-CEO and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and India and World, a pioneering magazine focused on international affairs. He is CEO/Director of TGII Media Private Limited, an India-based media, publishing, research and consultancy company.