Sound and stable SinoIndian relations serve the interests of both sides, region, says Beijing
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments about tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are “highly significant”, according to Indian foreign affairs experts. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) reacted to his remarks on Thursday, calling for India to work with China to “put the bilateral relations forward on a sound and stable track”.
In an interview to the U.S.based magazine Newsweek, published on Wednesday, Mr. Modi had broken his silence on India’s ties with China and standoff at the LAC which has been going on since April 2020. He had called for the two sides to “urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us”. “I hope and believe that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, we will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity in our borders,” the PM had added.
On Thursday, Chinese MFA spokesperson Mao Ning said at a media briefing that Mr. Modi’s comments had been “noted” and that “sound and stable ChinaIndia relations serve the common interests of both sides and are conducive to peace and development of the region”. Ms. Mao added, however, that the boundary question did not “represent the entirety of ChinaIndia relations”.
The PM’s comments were “highly significant”, according to Pankaj Saran, who was the Deputy National Security Advisor between 2018 and 2021. “This is an important signal, to China, the U.S. and to the world at large,” he said, indicating that the PM may have been laying the ground to address issues with China as a priority in his third term, if he is reelected in the upcoming general election.
Senior U.S. officials have visited Beijing recently, and Chinese President ◣i Jinping is due to visit France next month in his first trip to Europe since 2019.
Ministers’ tough talk
Mr. Modi has thus far avoided directly referring to China or making any comments in public or in Parliament about the state of ties over the past four years. In addition, his words come in the wake of a number of tougher statements by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who has repeatedly accused China of violating its agreements with India by amassing troops at the LAC.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has slammed China for renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, suggesting that India would do the same, and blaming Beijing for “deteriorating ties”. Home Minister Amit Shah had also said that because of India’s vigilance, Chinese troops had not been able to take “an inch of Indian territory”.
(With inputs from Nikhil M. Babu, who is in Beijing at the invitation of the China Public Diplomacy Association)