India, China and Doklam

A major shift to avoid Doklam like situations in future as a result of agreeing to have interactions between the militaries of India and China has been vividly projected very recently by both the countries. The decisions to this effect were taken by the Defence Ministers of both the countries in a meeting which lasted for over two hours in New Delhi following Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe’s recent visit to India.

Both the countries have decided to firm up a new bilateral pact on defence cooperation. After the end of cold war, almost all the countries across the globe are primarily concerned to get nearer to one another to arrive at mutual benefits and cooperation in economic, defence and other fields. After India, as a demonstration of assertion like a powerful sovereign country, maintained a firm position on Doklam, China gave away its rigid attitude and now wants a mechanism agreeable to both the neighbours to avoid standoffs like Doklam irrespective of both the armies guarding a long border area. This is a welcome move and a step towards thawing of relations between the two countries.

Both the sides have decided on early operationalization of the proposed hotlines between the two armies as part of the confidence building measures. It may be recalled that immediately after the Doklam spar was over, hotline connectivity to sort out matters regarding border problems between the two armies like trespassing each other’s areas etc was thought of to resolve such issues. However, Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about security challenges India has been facing because of cross border terrorism , India’s role in bringing peace in Afghanistan and the need for ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight in South China Sea.

Notable feature of the Indian stand has been in firmly conveying India’s apprehensions about China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is passing through Pakistan occupied Kashmir and that it violated India’s sovereignty. Expanding trade and engagement between the armed forces of the two countries in respect of training, joint exercises and other professional interactions were deliberated upon. Walking small but firm steps in right direction definitely bring about the desired objectives and it is paramount that both the countries developed more friendly relations and less of misunderstandings.

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Courtesy: The Daily Excelsior: 28 August, 2018