Don’t be suspicious, China tells India on Galwan anniversary

THE COUNTRIES CAN IMPROVE TIES AND PROMOTE COOPERATION BY MANAGING THE BORDER ISSUE AND PREVENTING DIFFERENCES FROM ESCALATING, CHINA’S FOREIGN MINISTRY SAID

BEIJING: India needs to stop being suspicious of China and work with Beijing to strengthen ties instead of working towards building obstacles, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday, a year after deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley and months after New Delhi said bilateral ties were “very significantly damaged” by Beijing’s violation of border agreements.

The two countries can gradually improve bilateral ties and promote pragmatic cooperation by managing the border issue and preventing differences from escalating into disputes, the Chinese ministry said in a statement exclusively shared with Hindustan Times in context of the deadly June 15 clash, which left soldiers on both sides’ dead.

New Delhi has repeatedly dismissed Beijing’s attempts to blame India for the ongoing border tension in eastern Ladakh, saying China’s People’s Liberation Army’s troops illegally trespassed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last year in May.

India’s external affairs ministry has also spelt out the Indian government’s position on the disengagement process, saying the LAC “must be strictly respected and observed as this is the basis for peace and tranquility in the border areas”.

China, the statement said, urges India to cherish the hardwon situation of easing in the border areas and abide by the relevant agreements and preliminary meetings between the two countries and the armed forces;

India should work with China and take practical actions to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, it added. The rare acknowledgment that there’s a need to “improve ties” by the Chinese foreign ministry is an indication of the state of the relationship, which is at its worst in decades.

“Hereby, I would like to stress that the two sides should stick to the strategic consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, unswervingly follow the right track of mutual trust and cooperation between neighbouring countries without following the wrong track of suspicion and the negative and (taking) retrogressive steps,” the statement from the foreign ministry spokesperson’s office said.

Commenting on the state of bilateral ties, Wang Dehua, a South Asia expert at Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies, said, “...we should take a long-term view and conduct sustainable cooperation. We should constantly promote mutually beneficial cooperation.”