Diplomatic options

Even as the India-China border standoff is entering its fifth month, diplomatic activity has intensified with the aim of defusing tensions and resolving thorny issues. Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe’s initiative to seek a meeting with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet is a step in this direction. In another encouraging development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia next week for the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting, where he is likely to have an interaction with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. In June, soon after the Galwan valley clash, Jaishankar had told Yi on the phone that both sides needed to improve communication to resolve their differences and maintain peace and tranquility along the border. He had also conveyed India’s zero tolerance to unilateral attempts to change the status quo.

After a couple of months of uneasy calm, Chinese troops have resumed incursions in eastern Ladakh. Such misadventures have been countered with a forceful riposte by the Indian soldiers, who have managed to retain control of strategic locations. However, the military buildup and aggressive posturing by both sides have raised the spectre of an armed conflict that could only prove to be mutually destructive. It’s imperative to keep the morale of the troops high, but the bluster about battle-readiness and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy is best avoided. Though there have been several rounds of talks between military representatives, no breakthrough has been achieved so far. The prolonged stalemate on the ground has made diplomatic interventions all the more critical.

India has made it clear that negotiations are the way forward. China has also acknowledged that both countries have the ability to resolve their border disputes bilaterally, but the sincerity of such assertions remains questionable. The Chinese proposition of delinking border issues from bilateral cooperation is rightly unacceptable to India. With India queering the pitch for Chinese investors, China is under pressure to safeguard its economic interests. It is hoped that the latest diplomatic overtures will lead to long-term de-escalation of troops, besides the restoration of normalcy in Ladakh.

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