Peace on border must: India ahead of talks with China

NEW DELHI, MARCH 9

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Days ahead of talks between military commanders of India and China on March 11, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said New Delhi had made it clear to Beijing that peace in border areas was essential for the development of the bilateral ties.

‘3 mutuals’ key to strong relations

India-China relations have to be based on ‘3 mutuals’ — mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and interest. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, foreign secy

Hope for a solution okay to both: China

Hope this meeting can narrow differences and work for a solution acceptable to both parties. Zhao Lijian, Chinese foreign ministry

“The development of India-China relationship has to be based on ‘three mutuals’—respect, sensitivity and interest,” he said while opening the first-ever training module on India’s neighbourhood at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. The initiative is part of the government’s efforts to mainstream “neighbourhood first” policy in the functioning of all ministries and departments of the government. Pointing out that India had also to contend with geo-political realities and extant threats such as cross-border terrorism and crime, he said while New Delhi wanted a good relationship with Pakistan, it could not be at the expense of security. India would be resolute in dealing with the security challenges and continue to expand its capacities to do so. “We will build alliances and networks through multilateral and plurilateral constructs such as the UN, the FATF, SCO and closer home through BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) and IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium) to deal with security challenges,” he said.

Turning to the neighbourhood, Shringla drew attention to two striking areas. The first is connectivity, which has steadily improved, be it by road, water, rail and air, and often by multimodal transport. The railway is causing a “rapid shrinking of South Asia’s geography”.

“Our diplomatic Missions in Sri Lanka and Myanmar report an increasing trend in the number of visas being issued. Expenditures by these visitors have considerable economic benefits and spin-offs for India,” he added.

The second area of focus has been the energy sector. “The Indian grid is connected to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and trans-national movement of electricity in the neighbourhood is a reality. An India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline is also under construction.”

India’s Lines of Credit to its neighbours have also jumped from $3.27 billion in 2014 to $14.7 billion in 2020.

There are also two other important areas in which India is working closely in the neighbourhood – healthcare and education – with the country emerging as hubs for both.

“Physical proximity means that we often share solutions. It also means, unfortunately, that many of our major foreign policy and security challenges arise from the neighbourhood. Some of our neighbours remain trapped in interpretations of history that do not allow them to adopt a progressive vision for the region,” he regretted.