Editorial: High on platitudes

The optimism surrounding the Modi-Jinping meeting has been overshadowed by the two nations’ contrasting claims on which side sought the interaction

The one-on-one informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, has raised hopes of an early resolution to the border dispute between the two countries. However, a careful look at the statements separately issued by New Delhi and Beijing reveal that they have merely stuck to their respective positions. While the meeting between the two leaders is widely seen as a breakthrough in itself, given the level of border tensions, there is no substantive gain in terms of de-escalation efforts at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The optimism surrounding the Modi-Jinping meeting has been overshadowed by the two nations’ contrasting claims on which side sought the interaction. India has refuted Beijing’s contention that the meeting happened at New Delhi’s behest, saying that a request from China to hold bilateral talks is ‘pending’. On its part, China has stated that both sides should consider the overall interests of their bilateral relations and ‘handle properly’ the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border region. While Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves common interests of the two countries, Modi conveyed to the Chinese leader New Delhi’s concerns over the unresolved issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, highlighting that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for the normalisation of bilateral ties. One gets an impression that the two countries should have used the Johannesburg meeting to conduct a structured bilateral engagement to thoroughly discuss the thorny border issue.

It is clear that the two sides are sticking to their stands, with China keen to delink the border dispute from overall bilateral relations but India is not ready to play ball. With President Xi expected to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi next month — it would be his first trip to India in almost four years — a formal meeting between him and Modi needs to be arranged. While 19 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China have been held over the past three years, the importance of a comprehensive interaction between the two leaders cannot be overstated. Discussions have taken place at several levels to find solutions to border issues, but a resolution remains elusive. During the military commander-level talks, India has done well to stand firm on two key demands: early disengagement of troops from all remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh; and the restoration of the status quo ante as of April 2020, before the conflict began. The unresolved border tension has led to an unprecedented build-up of troops on both sides. The onus of de-escalation of border tensions and normalisation of bilateral ties now lies with China. It needs to go beyond platitudes and make earnest efforts for expeditious disengagement at the border.

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