THE outgoing Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong in his farewell speech on Tuesday talked about ‘broad prospects’ in ties between India and China. He, however, added that both countries should refrain from interfering in the internal matters of the other while acknowledging that it was natural for the neighbours to have differences. “The key is how to handle the differences,” he stressed adding their common interests were greater than the differences. The two years of Weidong’s tenure witnessed a drawn border stand-off between the two countries in Eastern Ladakh. And interestingly his conciliatory noises follow the recent disengagement from the Gogra-Hotsprings border area in Ladakh after the Asian giants reached a consensus in the 16th round of the India-China Corps Commander-level meeting. The disengagement took place in a “coordinated and planned” manner and was meant to maintain peace at the frontier.
The two countries have been engaged in a bitter eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation ever since the Chinese army staged incursions across the Line of Actual Control in multiple areas in April-May 2020. The situation came to a head when 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives during a scuffle along the border. Since then multiple Corps Commander-level talks and a few meetings between the foreign ministers of the two nations yielded little result.
However, before the pullback at Gogra-Hotsprings, the two countries last year withdrew their troops from the south bank of Pangong lake area in eastern Ladakh following their agreement for “synchronised and organised disengagement”. But there are still friction points left – Galwan Valley and Depsang. Up until now, they have proved difficult to sort out. But there is hope that like at Pangong and Gogra so far, the two countries will find a diplomatic solution to all the stand-off points. sooner than later.
And this is good for the region as this will bring the Asian giants closer to each other, a need of the hour in the evolving geopolitics. The world is becoming more and more multilateral as the US-led western dominance is showing signs of ebbing with each passing year. The US has staked everything in the ongoing Ukraine war to prolong its unipolar moment in history. And in this geopolitical flux, India has maintained an independent foreign policy. Rather than join the western camp, India has sought to play a mediatory role in resolving the Ukraine crisis. It has pursued its global policies while keeping its core interests in mind and steering clear of joining any geopolitical camp. This creates space for a viable India-China relationship. The two countries get along despite their differences as Weidong rightly said.
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