India under Modi could see rocky ties with China ahead

[JayAtl]

India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi, was sworn in on May 26. Before the election he had declared India's sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, which is also claimed by China. After he was elected, he made a high-profile invitation to Lobsang Sangay, leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile, to attend his inauguration. The signs are there that relations between China and India may not be smooth in the foreseeable future.

Beijing did not send any message of congratulation to Modi until the day of the inauguration, conveying a message of discontent with Modi and his nationalistic brand of politics, not to mention his past meetings with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The territorial dispute between China and India involves a total area of 300,000 square kilometers. Border disputes have sparked brief periods of armed conflict in 1962, 1967 and 1987, while the "tents confrontation" in May last year lasted half a month.

Indian media outlets recently reported that China's defense minister Chang Wanquan is set to visit India. If this is true, this may avert the possibility of future border clashes in the near term.

What concerns India the most is China's rising military power and its strategic deployment in the Indian Ocean. An Indian thinktank a few years ago raised the idea of establishing an Asian version of Nato, and India has continued to expand its own naval forces.

In recent years, some voices in India have urged the formation of a formal alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia as a counterbalance to China. But New Delhi has appeared equivocal over such as prospect.

When Modi attended the Shangri-La Dialogue last week, his first international engagement after taking office, he kept a low profile as the United States, Japan and Vietnam condemned China's policy in the South China Sea.

When Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh attended the BRICS summit in South Africa in May last year, he told China's president, Xi Jinping, that India will not be used as a tool to contain China.

Xi is set to send an envoy to India in the near future. By that time, we will see whether Modi is sincerely keen to maintain friendly ties with China based on a joint statement the two nations signed a few years ago

India under Modi could see rocky ties with China ahead｜Editorials｜Opinion｜WantChinaTimes.com

 

[Soumitra]

China heaps praise on 'old friend' Modi

NEW DELHI: In its first official engagement with India after the change of guard here, Beijing's statecraft again came to the fore as visiting foreign minister Wang Yi used nothing short of a panegyric to PM Narendra Modi to reach out to the new government.

Wang is in India as a special envoy of President Xi Jinping. In his first meeting with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, which lasted for three hours, Wang showered encomiums on the NDA government led by Modi, even saying it had injected a "new vitality into an ancient civilization". Modi, Wang said, was an old friend of China.

Outlining ancient links between the two countries, Modi had earlier regaled Chinese Premier Li Keqiang with a reference to the travels of Hiuen Tsang in their telephonic conversation, saying the Chinese scholar had even visited his village Vadnagar during his stay in India in the 7th century. Li was the first foreign leader to call Modi after he assumed office.

Without getting into the specifics, Indian officials said "all perennials'' of China-Indian relations were discussed in a "frank manner" during the meeting. This included the need for resolving the contentious border issue and Beijing's insistence on giving residents of J&K and Arunachal Pradesh stapled Chinese visas, it is learned.

Wang, who promised support for India's economic development, insisted that the dreams of both China and India have commonalities and that Beijing was ready to engage with the new government. Foreign ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin described the talks as "cordial, useful, substantive and productive".

"Even while there was a determination to add new content and substance to the relationship, there was an understanding that respect for the sensitivities and aspirations of each other was essential for expansion of bilateral relations,'' said the spokesperson, as he summed up the mood by referring to the Chinese proverb that a 1000-mile journey begins with a single step. "That step has been taken with this engagement,'' he added.

The two sides also discussed economic issues in detail, including specific projects and the rising trade deficit between the two countries. Swaraj spoke about the need for more Chinese investments into India and also the possibility of setting up industrial parks in India. Wang responded by saying that China will support expansion of economic cooperation with India.

Wang will call on PM Modi, and also President Pranab Mukherjee, on Monday. In his interaction with Swaraj, joint secretary (East Asia) Gautam Bambawale said, Wang thanked India for the position it had taken on recent incidents of terrorism in China. Possible counter-terrorism cooperation was also discussed even though there is already a joint working group to address the issue.

The Wang visit will also pave the way for a slew of engagements between the two countries in the next six months. While Xi is expected to visit India after September, there are at least five other meetings likely to take place between the two countries at the levels of President, PM, vice-president and foreign minister.

Foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who emphasized on the need for more Chinese investment into India before her counterpart Wang Yi, lent her own special touch to the meeting when she started her conversation with him in Mandarin. Sources said the gesture almost took Wang by surprise as he wasn't expecting it. He warmly responded in China's official language and with a smile. Swaraj greeted him by saying "reliye huanying nin" which translated into English means "I welcome you warmly''. She ended with a "xie xie" which means thank you.

China heaps praise on 'old friend' Modi - The Times of India

 

[rott]

LOL... wantchinatimes.

 

[twocents]

LOL... wantchinatimes.

Slightly better than the Epoch Times, which by the way hasn't been quoted much lately.

 

[JayAtl]

LOL... wantchinatimes.

Slightly better than the Epoch Times, which by the way hasn't been quoted much lately.

really , given how much propaganda your state owned papers put out...you chinese should be last to comment about other publications.

now getting to what wantchinatimes said, what in its reporting do you doubt?

1. that India/ modi is still for helping tibetan exiles
2. That arunachal pradesh is India
3. That modi is against incursions

tell us what your propaganda machine has told you otherwise?

 

[Kolaps]

Slightly better than the Epoch Times, which by the way hasn't been quoted much lately.

WantChinaTImes is owned by the mainland Want group but published in Taiwan.

India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi, was sworn in on May 26. Before the election he had declared India's sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, which is also claimed by China. After he was elected, he made a high-profile invitation to Lobsang Sangay, leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile, to attend his inauguration. The signs are there that relations between China and India may not be smooth in the foreseeable future.

........................................................

How can Lobsang Sangay give Tibet territory to India???

Shouldn't he defend Tibet?

 

[JayAtl]

India to fortify defence along China border, 54 new ITBP posts being planned in Arunachal
India to fortify defence along China border, 54 new ITBP posts being planned in Arunachal - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: In a major step to fortify defences along the China border, over 50 new border posts are being planned for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Official sources said a proposal for creating 54 modern posts for the ITBP is under consideration of the Union home ministry after the border guarding force recently submitted a proposal in this regard.

"The home ministry has in principle given its nod for the proposal which is being processed," the sources said.Arunachal Pradesh shares a total of 1,126 km of its international border with China, second in length after Jammu and Kashmir which has a 1,597 km long frontier with India's eastern neighbour.

As part of modernization and better border management planning of India's security mechanism along this border, prone to a spate of incursions, the posts will be, under the proposal, equipped with all the basic gadgets that the troops require to position themselves at these icy heights.

"The new border posts will be solar powered and have space to not only accommodate the regular ITBP guards but also to house a small squad of reinforcements in case of emergencies. The posts will have satellite phone connectivity," the sources said.