Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday put their seal of approval on the agreement between India and China on resuming patrolling near the friction points in eastern Ladakh. The two leaders also decided to resume Special Representative level talks to iron the vexed India-China boundary dispute. These talks have not taken place since 2019, when tension flared up in Dokalam and Ladakh. Both the leaders decided to take relations forward from a "strategic and long-term perspective, enhance strategic communication and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges."
The immediate outcome of the bilateral meeting could be that India would soon reopen its doors for Chinese investment, which Xi Jinping needs badly. But the pace of reopening investment shall depend on what happens on the ground in Ladakh and whether Chinese army implements the agreement sincerely. It was also decided in Wednesday's summit meeting that India and China's special representatives will discuss resuming Mansarovar pilgrim yatra.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and India's Sherpa at BRICS Dammu Ravi were present with PM Modi at the meeting, while the Chinese President was assisted by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Chinese Communist Party secretary Cai Qi.
Before the meeting began, Prime Minister Modi said, "mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual sensitivities" were essential for moving forward in bilateral relations. President Xi said, both India and China were two big economic powers and they should present an example of friendship to the rest of the world. Jinping said, both India and China want a multi-polar world and end Western hegemony.
The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi is an important one and it has ended five years of tense deadlock. One needs to revisit the background in which India-China friendly relations went on a downward spiral because of tension near LAC.
In Dokalam near the Bhutan border, when Chinese troops confronted the Indian army, our brave jawans stood their ground for 72 days and did not allow the Chinese troops to move an inch forward. China again broke mutual trust, when its army ignited tension in Ladakh. It built big infrastructures on its side of the border which posed a security risk for India. India became active on a war footing, built roads, bridges and tunnels near the border at breakneck speed and under PM Modi's instructions, made mirror deployment of its troops to match Chinese buildup. It was then that the Chinese strategists realized that this was a new India, which was not going to be browbeaten.
In the last three years, Chinese army did not make any big transgression, and instead, sent feelers for resumption of trade and investment, even as talks on reducing border tension was going on. The downslide in investment and trade also affected Indian industrial sectors like electronics, pharma and chemicals, which were dependent on China for procuring raw materials.
Despite facing losses, India stood its ground saying that until and unless there is agreement on the border standoff, talks on other issues cannot be reopened. India did not bow despite economic losses. Ultimately, China understood and Indian diplomacy succeeded.
After several months of talks, China agreed for patrolling deal to be followed by disengagement. By reaching a deal, India and China have told the rest of the world that they were moving forward to normalize relations. Prime Minister Modi's personal friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin helped in bringing about agreement.
Though such intervention are never admitted officially, one point is clear: India has told the world that it shall never compromise with its self-respect in any situation. This was underlined by PM Modi at Wednesday's bilateral, when he said that peace and stability on the border was a top priority for both countries, but, in the next sentence, he said, that "mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensibilities" were of essence for improving relations. Modi's message is clear: India wants good relations with its neighbours, but it will never compromise on the issue of self-respect.
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