In a sign of new realism driving India-China relations which are prone to misperceptions, the two Asian giants are hard at work to resolve issues arising out of a reported incursion by Chinese troops in the Indian territory in Ladakh.
China’s Foreign Ministry has rejected reports of incursions as “groundless speculation” and stressed that its army was abiding by the agreement between the two countries. In a strenuous effort not to let the reported incident snowball into a potential flashpoint, senior officials of the two countries are working the phones to avoid costly misperceptions that could mar the positive momentum in bilateral ties.
The incident comes at a time when two of Asia’s largest economies have declared their joint resolve to deepen strategic trust and mutual understanding – a key point that was highlighted by the leaders of India and China when they met last month on the margins of the BRICS summit in Durban.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to visit India mid-May, and there is a possibility that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may go on a state visit to Beijing as early as June. The decision by the leaders of two countries to visit each other’s country within months underlines the importance they attach to developing multi-faceted bilateral relations amid oft-touted projections of India and China as potential rivals in the Asian hemisphere.
According to some media reports, a contingent of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) came 10 km inside the Indian territory in Burthe in DBO sector in Ladakh, on the night of April 15 and set up a tented post there. The incident, amplified by some media outlets, has fuelled suspicions and recurrent anxieties in India about the so-called China threat and its strategic intentions vis-à-vis India.
Reflecting restraint and pragmatism that is dictating the course of India-China relations, the two emerging Asian powers, who have managed to scale up their bilateral trade to over $70 billion despite a decades-old boundary dispute, have treaded cautiously on this sensitive issue. Beijing denied trespassing the Line of Actual Control that serves as the de facto border between the two countries pending a final boundary settlement. “China’s frontier troops have been abiding by the agreement between the two countries and abiding by the LAC agreed by the two countries. Our frontier troops have been patrolling on the China’s side of LAC,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a media briefing in the Chinese capital April 22. “Our troops are patrolling on the Chinese side of the LAC and have never trespassed the line,” she added. Hua said that the border situation was not only peaceful, but also underlined that the “current India-China relations are in fine shape.” “We believe the current India-China relations have been in an advanced shape. We have maintained good communication and coordination on the boundary issue”, she said.
The messaging from Beijing conjured up a positive and optimistic picture of bilateral relations and signalled the intention to avoid any misunderstanding ahead of the Chinese premier’s visit to New Delhi next month – the first time a Chinese premier will visit India barely a couple of months after the decadal leadership transition in Beijing. “China values its relations with India and would like to develop sound, steady and long-term relationship with India,” said the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
In New Delhi, India’s foreign ministry took a nuanced view, with officials attributing the reported incursion to differences in perception about the Line of Actual Control that in turn stems from the undemarcated boundary.
In an important confidence-building measure, India and China had set up an inter-ministerial Mechanism on Coordination and Consultation on Border Affairs last year to proactively address issues relating to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border. The mechanism has held two meetings so far.
In a seminal sense, the so-called incursions that happen from time to time emanate from the unresolved boundary dispute. The special representatives of India and China have held 15 rounds of boundary talks, but have not made much headway.
Against this backdrop, Chinese President Xi Jinping had told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Durban March 27 that ensuring the continuance of peace and tranquillity on the border would be one of three core pillars of China’s policy towards India. Xi has identified expanding economic engagements and widening the ambit of cooperation on global governance and in multi-lateral fora as priority areas in developing bilateral relations between India and China.
India and China held a dialogue on counter-terrorism and the first stand-alone dialogue on the situation in Afghanistan in the last two weeks, signalling the political will on part of the two countries to expand areas of convergence in the regional and international arena, and to resolve contentious bilateral issues in an incremental manner, by building trust and better mutual communication.
Author Profile
- 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.
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