INDIA, CHINA AGREE TO MOVE BEYOND DOKLAM, FIND COMMON GROUND
The governments of India and China indicated the Doklam military standoff was an issue in the past and the two neighbours were keen to move on and focus on areas of economic cooperation.
At a bilateral meeting in the Chinese city of Xiamen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to put in place mechanisms to prevent a repeat of Doklam or similar situations across the long border.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar termed the Modi-Xi meeting “constructive and forward-looking”. He said they agreed “the security and defence personnel must maintain strong contacts and cooperation, and ensure that the situation which happened recently does not recur”.
On whether Doklam was discussed, Jaishankar said: “It was a forward-looking conversation...and not a backwardlooking one.”
The much awaited bilateral meeting, the first after the 73-day Doklam stand-off, lasted a little over an hour. Modi was in China to attend the BRICS nations’ meeting, and reached Myanmar in the afternoon for his first visit to that country.
In Allahabad, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said in reference to the Doklam event: “It has been demonstrated clearly that the nation is no longer ready to be cowed in matters relating to defence and security.”
Xinhua, the state-run Chinese news agency, quoted President Xi as having told Modi that “China and India should see each other as development opportunities, not threats”. Also, that “peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation” was the “only correct choice”.
According to Xinhua, on the border dispute, Xi said: “China, India should jointly safeguard peace, tranquility in border areas.” And: “On economic and social development, the two countries have great potential for cooperation, which should see greater synergy in strategy alignment, expand cooperation in infrastructure connectivity, as well as international affairs.”
India has kept out of China’s OBOR/Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious land and sea connectivity project.
The two leaders also discussed inter-governmental mechanisms, such as a joint economic group, security group and strategic group.
Chinese and Indian troops were engaged in a stand-off since June 16, after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road by the Chinese army. On August 28, our external affairs ministry announced a mutual decision on “expeditious disengagement” of troops in the disputed area.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Xi told Modi that Beijing hoped “India can view China's development in a correct and rational way”. Asked whether Doklam figured in the talks, he said, “Xi pointed out that China and India should respect each other, seek common ground and shelve differences to ensure peace and tranquility in the border area.”