Amid tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and some aggressive commentary in Chinese media, China’s ambassador to India Sun Weidong seemed to convey a more conciliatory message as he told a select gathering here that India and China didn’t pose a threat to each other and should never allow their differences to “shadow” bilateral cooperation.
Sun also described the neighbours as “opportunities” for each other and said the countries needed to see each other’s development in the correct way to enhance “strategic mutual trust”. The remarks came on a day the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing echoed Sun’s tenor, describing the border situation as overall stable and controllable, adding that India and China were capable of resolving the issue through dialogue.
Though there was no breakthrough yet at the sites of confrontation in east Ladakh where Chinese troops have intruded into areas India considers its own, commanders on both sides remain in touch. Last week India had clearly signalled it would not step back from forward positions facing Chinese troops until they withdrew to the usual lines of patrol along the LAC. “We should correctly view our differences and never let the differences shadow the overall situation of bilateral cooperation. At the same time, we should gradually seek understanding through communication and constantly resolve differences,” Sun said.
Situation at border with India stable: China
China on Monday said that the overall situation at the border with India was "stable and controllable", and both the countries have “unimpeded” communication channels to resolve the issues through dialogue and consultations. The comments by foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian came in the backdrop of the continuing standoff between the militaries of India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The spokesman was responding to a question on defence minister Rajnath Singh's remarks that India will not let its “pride be hurt” in its latest border flare-up with China but is determined to settle the dispute through talks between the giant neighbours. “I want to assure the country that we will not let India's pride be hurt in any circumstances,” Singh said in an interview to a news last week.
"At times, situations arise with China. It has happened before," Singh said while insisting that India was striving to make sure that the "tension does not escalate". "Negotiations are ongoing between the two countries at the military and diplomatic levels," he said.
Responding to Singh’s comments, Zhao said: “China has been implementing the consensus between the two countries' leaders. We have been committed to upholding our national sovereignty, security as well as stability along the border. Now the overall situation in our border areas is stable and controllable. We have unimpeded communication channels and we hope and believe through dialogue and consultations we can properly resolve the relevant issue," the spokesman told a media briefing here.
India earlier said it was engaged with China to peacefully resolve the border row. "We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve it," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, replying to questions at an online media briefing.
Beijing asks India to back off from US-China war
Warning India to be "careful", China asked New Delhi not to get involved in the Washington-Beijing rivalry even as some predict that the world's two largest economies are "about to enter a new Cold War".
In an article in The Global Times, China said that there have been some voices calling for the Indian government to join the new Cold War and exploit its position for more gains. "Such irrational voices are nothing but misleading, which should not represent the mainstream voices and sway the Indian government's stance. Fundamentally speaking, India has little to gain from engaging in a US-China conflict over any topic, with more to lose than gain, which is why the Modi government needs to face the new geopolitical development objectively and rationally," Beijing said.
Several areas along the Line of Actual Control or LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have seen major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.
India has said the Chinese military was hindering normal patrolling by its troops along the LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim, and strongly refuted Beijing's contention that the escalating tension between the two armies was triggered by trespassing of Indian forces across the Chinese side.
Us President Donald Trump had also offered to "mediate or arbitrate" the raging border dispute between the two most populous countries, saying he was "ready, willing and able" to ease the tensions.
China asked India to be careful not to include the US factor in its handling of any problem in its relations with China, "otherwise it will only complicate the issue". "The offer of US mediation is unnecessary and the last thing both sides could use. China and India have the ability to resolve their problems, and there is no need for any third-party intervention," it said.
Threatening New Delhi of snapping economic ties, Beijing further said, "If in a new Cold War, India leans toward the US or becomes a US pawn attacking China, the economic and trade ties between the two Asian neighbors will suffer a devastating blow. And it would be too much for the Indian economy to take such a hit at the current stage."
Citing the increasing coronavirus cases and the recession forecast, China stated that the "crippling Indian economy cannot afford any more shocks". It "advised" New Delhi to "always view the India-China relations with rational minds instead of being lured by domestic nationalist sentiment".
