China has apparently conveyed to India that it “has not changed its position on the Kashmir issue” and that it wants the issue to be resolved in a peaceful manner bilaterally, between India and Pakistan. With both sides being in touch with each other over the past few days amid hectic diplomatic parleys, the decks have finally been cleared for holding the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mahabalipuram (also known as Mamallapuram) near Chennai on October 11-12, with an official announcement by India expected by Tuesday. Due to the delay in announcing the dates and venue of the meeting, there has been considerable speculation, especially in the past week, about whether the meeting was to take place or not.
Sino-Indian have been strained following Beijing’s support to Pakistan at the UN recently on the Kashmir issue after India abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated J&K state in early August.
India was unhappy with China for backing Pakistan at the UNGA and for pushing for informal discussions on the Kashmir issue by member-countries of the UN Security Council a few weeks ago.
China was upset over the Indian Army holding exercises in Arunachal Pradesh which Beijing regards as its territory.
As reported earlier by this newspaper, October 11 will see a walk-through by the two leaders on the beach of Mahabalipuram where the famed ancient temple is located. The main informal summit will take place on October 12. The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of issues in the informal yet luxurious setting by the seaside, and the summit is expected to once again put bilateral ties on an upward trajectory following the past two months of tensions in Sino-Indian ties.
To that extent, it could accomplish what the first informal summit — held last year in the central Chinese industrial city of Wuhan — set out to do, after the two neighbours were locked in a military face-off at Doklam in Bhutanese territory.
Nevertheless, Sino-Indian ties remain vulnerable to fluctuation given the poor state of Indo-Pak ties, and the fact that the all-weather friendship between Islamabad and Beijing goes back several decades.
Sino-Pak ties have been invigorated in recent times with Beijing’s interest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that provides China the fastest road connectivity to the Arabian Sea.
AHEAD OF XI’S VISIT, CHINA SAYS KASHMIR ISSUE SHOULD BE RESOLVED BETWEEN NEW DELHI & PAKISTAN.
As Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for talks with Xi Jinping ahead of the Chinese President’s important visit to India, China said the Kashmir issue should be resolved between New Delhi and Islamabad, significantly omitting its recent references to the UN and UN Security Council resolutions.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang during his media briefing here on Tuesday did not make any official announcement about Xi’s visit to India.
However, Chinese officials informally said an announcement would be made simultaneously in Beijing and New Delhi on Wednesday.
The foreign ministry has also called for a special media briefing on Wednesday on “Chinese leader’s outbound visit”.
“India and China have a tradition of high-level exchanges. Both sides have communication exchange over high-level visit. Any new information will be released soon,” Geng said in response to questions on Xi’s visit to India.
Both India and China are major developing countries of the world and major emerging markets, he said.
However, Chinese officials informally said an announcement would be made simultaneously in Beijing and New Delhi on Wednesday.
The foreign ministry has also called for a special media briefing on Wednesday on “Chinese leader’s outbound visit”.
“India and China have a tradition of high-level exchanges. Both sides have communication exchange over high-level visit. Any new information will be released soon,” Geng said in response to questions on Xi’s visit to India.
Both India and China are major developing countries of the world and major emerging markets, he said.
“Since the Wuhan informal summit (last year), our bilateral relations have gathered good momentum,” he said.
“We have been advancing our cooperation and properly managing our differences. We have a tradition of high level exchange and our two sides are maintaining communication on high level exchange in the next phase. We should make good atmosphere and environment for this,” he said.
When asked about Khan’s visit to Beijing ahead of Xi’s trip to India and whether the Kashmir issue will figure in his talks with the Chinese leaders, Geng said that China’s stand is that the Kashmir issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan.
“And so you are paying attention to the Kashmir issue, right? China’s position on Kashmir issue is clear and consistent”, he said.
“We call on India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue and consultation on all issues including Kashmir issue and consolidate mutual trust. This is in line with interest of both countries and common aspiration of the world,” he said.
His comments marked a significant shift on what China has been saying on Kashmir in recent weeks in the aftermath of India’s move to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution removing the special status to Kashmir.
In its first reaction on August 6, the Chinese foreign ministry issued two separate statements.
In one statement, China also expressed its opposition to India’s move to create a separate Union Territory of Ladakh highlighting Beijing’s territorial claims in the area.
The second statement said, “We call on both India and Pakistan to peacefully resolve the relevant disputes through dialogue and consultation and safeguard peace and stability in the region”.
But, China added UN and UNSC resolutions on Kashmir when Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited Beijing few days later and met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
“It (Kashmir issue) should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement,” Wang had said