China calls for more cooperation among five Brics countries
BEIJING: President Xi Jinping on Friday called for more cooperation among the BRICS countries on economics, finance and security at a meeting of security heads of the five-nation grouping, including India’s national security adviser Aji t D oval, in the backdrop of a military stand-off on the Sino-India border.
Xi said the five countries were faced with a “complex international political and economic security situation” and the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) should communicate more on financial cooperation, cultural exchange sand security issues.
Earlier in the day, Doval said BR I CS countries should take the lead role in countering global terrorism and address regional issues at the formal opening of the 7 th meeting of the security heads of the group.
Doval’s visit to Beijing has been under the cloud of the military impasse in the Dong lang and the focus has been on whether his meetings with the Chinese leadership would begin the process of resolving the log jam near the Sikkim border. The crisis was sparked off in June after India sent troops to the Donglang area – also called Doklam – which China claims is its territory.
Bhutan, too claims the area. China has insisted on withdrawal of Indian troops for starting talks to defuse tensions.
While standoffs between the neighbours – which share a nearly 3,500 km border – are not uncommon, the Sikkim face-off is one of the longest in recent times.
In his opening remarks at the summit on Friday morning, Doval stressed on BRICS coun- tries’ stand on counter-terrorism and the importance of discussing security-related issues among the five members.
“BRICS has grown in global significance over the years. It is natural we should hold a BRICS forum to discuss security issues that impact global peace and stability,” he told his counterparts from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa at the seventh such summit.
Doval’s bilateral meeting with state councilor Yang Jiechi in Beijing on Thursday was closely tracked but whether their conversation began are solution or at least an easing of the standoff remains to be seen. A brief statement on Thursday’s meeting between Aji t D oval and Yang put out by the official news agency Xinhua indicated that the standoff was indeed discussed.
“Chinese state council or Yang Jiechi Thursday met separately with senior security representatives from South Africa, Brazil and India,” the statement said.
“Yang also separately exchanged views with the three senior representatives on bilateral relations, international and regional issues and multilateral affairs, and set forth China’ s position on bilateral issues and major problems,” it added. Chinese experts have given enough indications that Doval-Yang talks will not yield any result if India doesn’t withdraw its troops.
“Once the Indian army pulls out, the tension will be quickly reduced. This time, China and its top leaders feel humiliated badly by India’ s advent uri sm and invasion ,” said Hu S hi sh eng, director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceanian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.