Xi visit: Investments, yes, but there will be no India-China bhai bhaibyRajeev SharmaSep 17, 2014 7:42 IST000AAHours before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives on a three-day state visit, India-China relations have been hit by some diplomatic hard talk by Beijing. China has expressed its displeasure over the India-Vietnam offshore oil exploration agreement signed during President Pranab Mukherjees Vietnam visit. Mukherjees Vietnam trips began on 14 September and will end today. The agreement was signed on 15 September.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei went on record on Tuesday warning India against ONGCs exploration of oil wells (in Vietnam) within the waters of the disputed South China Sea and subtly remindingIndia that our forays into Vietnam in oil exploration areas will have to have the approval” of China.Hong said: We have noted Presidents Mukherjees visit to Vietnam. I would like to point out that China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha islands and adjacent waters … If such agreement concerns waters administered by China or if such cooperation project is not approved by the Chinese government, then we will be concerned about suchan agreement and we will not support it.China is also livid about India rapidly deepening its strategic ties with Vietnam and Japan, the two countries China has fought wars with. This when China has been bolstering its ties with South Asian countries and XiJinping himself has just completed bilateral visits to Maldives and Sri Lanka, intensifying the Sino-Indian geo-strategic rivalries in the region.Besides, there has been another dampener in India-China bilateral relations in the form of long-drawn incursions by the Chinese into Indian territory. The India-China standoff in Demchok area of Ladakh entered the eleventh day on Wednesday. The Chinese pushed the envelope on Tuesday with a new tactic when Chinese nomads pitched tents inside Indian territory with the help of Chinese army.Thus far it was the Chinese troops who were launching deep incursions into Indian territory but the ongoing Demchok incident has shown that theChinese army has now started using civilians as a shield. The Chinese nomads have refused to vacate the Indian territory in Demchok until the Indians stopped work on constructionof an irrigation canal in the area.The Demchok incident is a firm indication from the Chinese side that no breakthrough will be achieved on India-China boundary dispute during Xis India visit.Beijing waving a red flag to India over New Delhis deepening ties with Hanoiin areas like oil exploration and defence indicates that the deep-seated mutual suspicion between India and China is not going to melt into thin air by top-level to-and-fro visits.The timing of top-level visits from India and China to other countries in the region tells a tale. On the eve of Xis India visit, President Pranab Mukherjee completes his highly substantive bilateral visit to Vietnam during which seven agreements are signed, including in areas like defenceand oil exploration.From Chinas perspective, Xi visits Maldives and Sri Lanka and deepens Beijings strategic ties with the two South Asian countries which are in Indias backyard.Thus the two sides continue to be engaged in a game of one-upmanshipon the geostrategic chess board covertly while overtly they sweet talk each other through top level political visits.China has reacted sharply over President Mukherjees Vietnam visit because it fears that the 15 September MoU on $100 million Line of Credit for Defence Procurement between India and Vietnam is just the beginning of intense defence cooperation between the two countries, both of which have fought awar with China. The Line of Credit opens new opportunities in India-Vietnam defence cooperation.Besides, China is also wary of the fearful symmetry among India-Russia-Vietnam when it comes to defence matters. Vietnam is already very keen on buying BrahMos missiles, an Indo-Russian joint venture. The Russians are working in a big way with Vietnamese navy and signed up an agreement to sell submarines to Vietnam which will bolster Vietnams naval deterrent vis avis China. The specter of Vietnam having Russian submarines fitted withIndian missiles is extremely annoying for China.Against this backdrop, the bottom-line is this. Xis India visit will be high on economic agenda but low on strategic content. Xi may loosen Chinese purse strings to India, but strategically China continues to remain a tough nut to crack. Trust deficit continues to plague India-China relations.The writer is Firstpost Consulting Editor and a strategic analyst who tweets @Kishkindha
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 02:42:00 +0000
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