China, India reach border consensus

Agreement beyond expectations, attainable only when India keeps promise: expert

The joint statement and five-point consensus reached by both Chinese and Indian foreign ministers in Moscow on Thursday evening marked a substantial step in cooling down the current border situation, exceeding the expectations of most international observers and creating favorable conditions for a possible future meeting between the leaders of the two countries, said Chinese experts.

The successful implementation of the joint statement, however, depends on whether the Indian side can truly keep its word. Given the country’s history, it is possible that the joint statement will end up as merely “paper talk,” experts warned.

China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the

Shanghai Cooperation Organization foreign ministers’ meeting in Moscow. The highly anticipated meeting was viewed by experts from both sides as a last resort to peacefully resolve the recent border clashes, after previous meetings at the commander levels as well as last week’s defense ministers’ meeting in Moscow failed to garner true results.

In the five-point consensus, Wang and Jaishankar agreed that China and India should follow the guidance of the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries, including that divergence should not be escalated into conflicts. The current conflicts in border areas do not serve the interests of either side. The border troops of the two countries should continue their current dialogue, disengage as soon as possible and maintain necessary distances.

Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said that the jo joint statement showed that under the current situation, the highest levels of the two governments are unwilling to further escalate conflicts as the de-escalation of tensions will be conducive to the two countries’ interests.

Qian noted that the five-point consensus – the short and concise agreement by the two counties – plans the direction for the next phase of discussions.

While the joint statement looks fine on paper, the actual addressing of future border tensions remains unclear as India has a long history of breaking its promises, warned Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

“We should not only observe what India says, but also what it does. For a country like India, the most important thing is how it acts,” he said.

Backed by military

Analysts said that the agreement reached this time is also largely due to strong support from the Chinese military.

“Only a strong military can wake up India, words are not enough,” Hu said.

Hu noted that India’s recent moves show that some forces there are trying to portray China as India’s second-biggest enemy, with its first being Pakistan.

“A series of hostile moves from India show it wants to de-couple from China, and replace China. However, this can never be realized. Going against China will only hurt Indian citizens,” he said.

India recently tightened its visa policy on Chinese, and banned 59 apps linked to China, alleging that they are used in activities “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order.”

Qian said that peacefully resolving the border conflicts is important for India, as it would mean the government can then focus on addressing the country’s other problems, which would bring real benefits for the people.

As nationalism prevails in India, it becomes a true test of Indian top politicians’ wisdom not to be misdirected. The Indian government should have the ability to restrain and prevent radical military actions, he stressed.