New Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India on Friday can be seen as a big step in a relationship between the two countries that has turned sour after the Chinese incursion at the Galwan valley, which led to a deadly skirmish between the two armies resulting in loss of lives on both sides.
In fact, the sudden visit by the Chinese FM to India without a prior official announcement has generated mixed reactions. Former ambassador Jitendra Tripathi, while talking to ETV Bharat said that the visit to India was an attempt by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to woo India towards China in his effort to form another axis- Russia-India-China against the US or NATO.
“During the talks, the Chinese FM tried to convince EAM Jaishankar that China is a friend but the External Affairs Minister clearly, in no uncertain terms said that it will not happen till the issue of Chinese aggression and ingression is sorted out. China wanted to activate the RIC more vigorously,” he added.
Wang Yi’s visit to India came at a very crucial time for both countries. As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, Beijing has faced Western pressure, and the possibility of sanctions, over its support to Russia. Meanwhile, India has also drawn criticism from the West over its continued refusal to condemn Russia and for maintaining a neutral stance on the Ukraine crisis. Western powers are irked because despite being a strategic partner of the US, India continues to buy oil and arms from Russia.
“Wang Yi’s idea was only to get an assurance from India for continued support because India’s abstention from latest Security Council resolution pushed by Russia in the UNSC, is a sort of satisfaction for Russia that India is not going against Russia with the US-led coterie,” Tripathi said.
Adding further, he said, “If not globally but at least in Asia, India has got a good stature and China knows it well. Chinese FM visit only indicates that China is trying to trap India in false verse of placation but India has refused it. India continues to maintain the same stance that the relations with China in other sectors will only develop once the country’s aggression and border policies are amended”.
During the talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, EAM Jaishankar on Friday made it clear that disengagement and de-escalation at the conflict points are a priority, and only these actions will bring peace and tranquillity to the border areas, without which other aspects of the bilateral cannot proceed.
Jaishankar said that the current situation is a ‘work in progress, obviously, at a slower pace than desirable, while adding that this needs to be taken forward since completion of disengagement (at LAC) is necessary for disengagement.
“Our relationship with China at present is not normal, given the presence of a large number of troops in contravention of the 1993-96 agreements. So long there are very large deployments, the border situation is not normal. We still have ongoing friction areas, have made progress in resolving some friction areas including Pangong Tso. Our discussion was how to take this forward. There have been many rounds of talks,” Jaishankar told reporters yesterday after meeting his Chinese counterpart.
According to a readout by the Chinese foreign ministry, during a meeting with Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval on Friday, Wang pitched China and India as two Asian powers that should stand together. 'Both countries sought national rejuvenation but should not pose a threat to each other," he said.
Meanwhile, Doval told the Chinese Foreign Minister that there has to be early and complete disengagement in border areas for India-China ties to move forward.
