Maintaining good relations meets interests of India and China: Chinese

Singapore: US Secretary of Defence expressed serious concerns over China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific sector. During his speech in Singapore at the Shangri-La Security meeting, the US Secretary of Defence claimed that the Indian military might be the balancing force in the Indo-Pacific sector. After that, the Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe expressed that it was in the interest of both India and China to maintain cordial relations.

The Chinese Defence Minister responded to a question at the conference by underlining the importance of cordial relations with India. He said that India and China are neighbours; hence maintaining friendly ties was in the interest of both the countries. Fifteen negotiations have been held between the two countries to defuse the tension on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. The Chinese Defence Minister clarified that they are continuing efforts to resolve the dispute through negotiations.

For the last few months, China has been making strong efforts not to allow the border dispute with India to get global attention. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made special efforts for this. Thereafter, the Chinese Defence Minister tried to make similar claims of reduced border dispute at the Shangri-La conference. But before that, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin expressed concern about the Chinese activities on the LAC in Ladakh and assured that the United States would stand behind India in case of any Chinese aggression in the future.

Hence, the words used by the Chinese Defence Minister regarding the tension on the LAC in Ladakh, post the statement of the US Secretary of Defence, became significant. Although China is trying to show that it wants to resolve the border dispute through negotiations, activities along the LAC in Ladakh indicate a different picture. China is carrying out major construction work on its side of the LAC. The US defence department also has taken note of this. The Indian foreign ministry has warned that the Indian agencies are closing watching the Chinese activities on the LAC. At the same time, the foreign ministry assured that India is taking all the necessary steps to reply to the Chinese activities. But China is using a soft language instead of a vitriolic reaction against this. In the past, China has never shown this restraint regarding India. Instead, at the peak of the LAC dispute, China had reminded India of the defeat in the 1962 war on the official level. The Chinese government media reiterated the claim that India could not withstand their country’s military might.

Against this background, China choosing to use a softer tone instead of harsh language in the context of India is surprising as it does not go along with its otherwise aggressive posturing. However, China is not using aggressive language on the diplomatic level. Still, the Chinese activities on the LAC in Ladakh suggest otherwise, leaving suspicion in the minds of the Indian administration. Indian Defence Minister, Foreign Minister and even the Chiefs of defence forces are issuing warnings against it. Foreign Minister Jaishankar had recently warned that China would not be permitted to change the status quo on the LAC in Ladakh through a unilateral action under any circumstances.