A year after the Doklam border crisis was resolved, India seems determined to build more friendly relations with Beijing. But it is not clear whether this will continue in the long term. Even as this process unfolded, India remains concerned about China's activities in the neighborhood and continues to build relationships with other partners, despite its caution.
Since April, there has been a series of meetings between senior leaders, including Presidents Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping. After the "informal" summit in Wuhan, the two sides met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in June and the Brix leaders' summit in Johannesburg , In July.
At the Wuhan summit, Moody and Shie agreed on a formula for cooperation between China and India. Subsequently, India's Foreign Minister Vijay Gokal began drafting a "capacity building" project, announced on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. India and China have jointly organized a training program for Afghan diplomats in New Delhi, an important development. Chinese Ambassador to India Lu Zhaoyu has reportedly said that the two countries should cooperate in other neighboring countries such as Iran, Nepal and Myanmar. From training at the Institute of Foreign Service of India, visit China for the stage w As part of the joint training program.
Although Afghanistan has sent its diplomats for training under the program, the Afghan leadership is disappointed with India, and it is clear that because of India's accession to India, Kabul has seen a decline in Indian aid to Afghanistan and turned into "smaller" Pakistan's concerns, it is reported, "India, in fact, has conceded to China to accept the joint implementation of the limited" capacity-building "project and to choose a smaller project in Afghanistan, possibly to appease Pakistan's" ally "fears.
India's efforts to pacify China are not limited to cooperation in Afghanistan alone. The two neighbors are expected to sign a bilateral agreement on internal security cooperation this month during a visit by the Chinese Minister of Public Security to New Delhi. Exchange of information, sharing of best practices and exchange and cooperation programs in disaster mitigation are some of the areas in which both sides intend to cooperate under this Convention.
Reports indicate that these security cooperation arrangements could lead to a prisoner-exchange agreement between the two countries. It appears that 10 Indian prisoners are currently in Chinese prisons while an equal number of Chinese are in Indian prisons. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to visit India At the end of this year, to co-chair a meeting focusing on relations between the two peoples, a decision taken by Moody and Bing in the wake of the Doklam crisis.
Beijing concerns
While New Delhi is trying to deal with Beijing's concerns, there are questions about how long it will take, as there seems to be no lull in the expansion of China's military and diplomatic presence in India. For example, as the two countries began their joint training program for Afghan diplomats Beijing was busy deploying submarines in the Indian Ocean after a delay of more than a year. China reportedly sent two submarines seen in the Indian Ocean earlier this month. This is the first such Chinese military mission in the Indian Ocean since the crisis. Border border.
"India is working with all countries with a similar orientation, and we are also in dialogue with China," Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of the Indian navy, said.
At the same time, Beijing continues to show interest in reducing India's influence in Bhutan. Although China has no official diplomatic relations with the country, it has been expanding its presence for some time. China's exports to Bhutan have doubled over the past 10 years, Machinery, cement, electrical equipment, toys, etc., Beijing became the third largest exporter of products to the small kingdom.
Building partnerships
As India seeks to improve relations with China, it also continues to build up partnerships in the region. India-Japan maritime cooperation saw a strong boost with the Jimex exercise, which concluded earlier this week. India also held a dialogue with the United States last month and signed the Consensus and Security Agreement. Relations between India and Australia are also seeing some recovery through a number of security coordination agreements and military exercises between the two sides.
On the other hand, in a show of strategic autonomy for the United States, India signed an agreement to buy S-400 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia and plans to buy more Iranian oil from November, despite US sanctions. While observers question whether India can continue with these high stakes, New Delhi seems to be on a tightrope.
As India seeks to improve relations with China, it also continues to build its partnerships in the region. Kabul believes that because of India's accession to China, there has been a decline in Indian aid to Afghanistan and turned into smaller projects as a means to calm Pakistan's fears.