Relations With China: Cultural Exchange Will Be Fruitful If There Are No Conflicts
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-03-21 06:42:29
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The India Commentary view
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The expected visit of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to India later this month will afford an excellent opportunity for the two countries to take the ongoing military-level talks to a higher level and settle the contentious issues that have cropped up on the LAC in the last two years. Relations between the two countries have soured due to the Chinese ingression in Ladakh and aggressive postures at other places on the LAC, reaching the brink when there was a clash at Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers died. Military level talks have borne fruit in some areas but the conflict in other areas remains intractable. Meanwhile, both sides have beefed up their presence at the LAC and have been investing in infrastructure at a rapid pace.
India must impress upon the Chinese foreign minister that status quo ante must be restored as it existed in April 2020. It is not enough for both sides to withdraw from their present positions as the Chinese had reportedly entered too far in Indian territory. Hence, China must restore status quo to the actual positions held by both sides in April 2020. China must also be asked to tone down its aggressive posturing at the LAC and desist from building infrastructure (including building villages and relocating people) close to the LAC. These actions are not acceptable and the Chinese must be told so.
China has proposed that the two countries come closer through what it calls a "civilization dialogue" where there is regular interaction between business and film industries of both sides. This is welcome. People-to-people contact is a good way to improve relations. But when conflict exists at the LAC, these seem out of place. For any two countries to have civilization dialogue there must be peace and there should not be fresh territorial disputes. Hence, it is important that India and China settle their LAC conflict to have any meaningful engagement in other areas. Wang Yi's visit should be used to begin a high-level dialogue to settle the pending territorial and other issues.
