Decks appear to be cleared for a potential meeting between the leaders of China and India, as Beijing confirmed on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement with India to resolve the Ladakh border standoff and have agreed on border patrols in the region.
The confirmation came from the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, almost 24 hours after foreign secretary Vikram Misri stated that the two sides had reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the disputed border, a key milestone to end the yearslong border conflict between the two nations.
“China and India have maintained close communication through diplomatic and military channels regarding border-related issues. Currently, the two sides have reached a solution on the relevant matters, which China views positively,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Chinese state media.
Lin further added that in the next phase, China will closely work with India to implement the solution.
The Chinese confirmation is widely viewed as a key development ahead of the expected meeting between PM Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping during the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS Summit underway at Kazan, Russia.
PM Modi embarked on a two-day visit to Kazan, Russia today (October 22, 2024), to attend the 16th BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit. Hosted by Russia, the summit is viewed as an effort by non-Western powers to showcase their influence amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
This is the first BRICS summit following the group’s expansion at last year’s meeting in Johannesburg, which saw the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as new members.
However, the agreement between Beijing and New Delhi adds a new dimension to the Summit that is likely to expand the membership to new members, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Even as growth is slowing, Beijing is actively courting countries across the world to challenge Western hegemony.
The de-escalation of tensions with India and the resulting agreement indicates that Beijing has approached the situation with a fresh mindset and is now willing to reduce its traditional stubbornness in pursuit of its geopolitical ambitions.
From India’s perspective, the breakthrough with China is crucial in the sense that it offers New Delhi a larger wriggle room to negotiate with its Western partners, most notably with the United States, in the wake of an escalating diplomatic fallout with Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which the Canadian intel agencies attributed to Indian diplomats, Lawrence Bishnoi gang, all the way up to the Home Minister Amit Shah.
India, on the other hand, had expelled Canadian diplomats and warned of repercussions for levelling baseless allegations against the country without providing a shred of proof that implicates its role in the Nijjar killing.
In this context, the prospect of a likely meeting between PM Modi and Xi Jinping is all set to make the Western nations anxious as they try to corner China over a host of issues, including possible military action against Taiwan, technology theft, and transnational repression, among other things.
