As China, India hold candid border talks, Jaishankar acts provocatively for election

As China and India agreed to continue talks through diplomatic and military channels to resolve border issues at the latest border consultation in Beijing, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he will “never compromise on securing borders,” a move analysts viewed as a trick to pass the buck to China over the dispute and try to gain more leverage to bargain with Beijing.

According to a release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday, China and India held the 29th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs on Wednesday in Beijing.

The two sides made positive comments on the progress made in bringing the border situation under control, had a “candid and in-depth” exchange of views on the next stage of work, agreeing to reach a mutually acceptable plan at an early date and push the border situation into a phase of regular control.

Also on Wednesday, during his meeting with the Indian community in Malaysia, Jaishankar said, “My first duty to Indians is to secure the border. I can never compromise on that,” according to India’s NDTV.

Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that Jaishankar’s “tough words” were made with an eye on the upcoming election.

Colonel Wu Qian from China’s Ministry of Defense on Thursday stressed that “It is an undeniable fact that Zangnan has been Chinese territory since ancient times, and there’s no so-called Arunachal Pradesh.”

It’s India that keeps provoking China and making trouble on the border issue to gain more leverage to bargain with China, Hu told the Global Times on Thursday.

China, which always seeks cooperation, does not want to make India an enemy, and India should not treat China as a “threat” and rival, said Hu.