Joint military drills will help neighbourhood ties

India, China must now create a template to address the irritants in their relationship

India and China are capping a year marked by a flurry of highlevel contacts with engagements in two diverse and equally important areas. One hundred troops from each side are currently participating in the fortnight-long “Hand in Hand” war game at Chengdu. Without a doubt, these contacts have been driven by the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in April, a meeting that did much to address the tensions that had characterised the relationship in the wake of last year’s military standoff at Doklam near the Sikkim border.

Better relations between New Delhi and Beijing will spell greater stability in India’s immediate neighbourhood and the rest of Asia. However, this is not to say that everything is hunky dory in the relationship. China continues to block the listing of Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar at the UN as well as India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. It has also forged ahead with the China-pakistan Economic Corridor despite India’s concerns on sovereignty issues. Most contacts in the aftermath of the Wuhan Summit have been aimed at managing bilateral ties and placing them back on an even keel after Doklam. But it would be more fitting if the two sides take forward the much-touted “Wuhan Spirit” to putting in place a template to address the irritants that have bedevilled their relationship.