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All eyes are on the three-day BRICS Summit in China, starting Sept. 3, when a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping is expected to take place.
The handshake between the two leaders might ease ongoing tension between the world’s two most populous countries over the Doklam plateau.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs refused to comment on the meeting when contacted by Arab News.
The plateau falls at the tri-junction of India, China and Bhutan. It has long been a point of dispute between New Delhi and Beijing. Recent tensions began on June 18, when India stopped Chinese workers from extending a road on the plateau southward near the Doka La pass on the Sino-Bhutanese territory.
India opposes the extension as it is close to its border. Bhutan says it is also against China building roads in the disputed area.
“Doklam is a disputed territory, and Bhutan has a written agreement with China that pending a final resolution of the boundary issue, peace and tranquility should be maintained in the area,” said Vetsop Namgyel, the Bhutanese ambassador to India.
New Delhi says the road construction is close to the Siliguri corridor, which connects mainland India with its northeastern side, which shares 90 percent of its borders with neighboring countries.
“Such construction would represent a significant change of the status quo, with serious security implications for India,” said the India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
To counter the Indian move, Beijing sent reinforcements to the area in the third week of June, and described New Delhi’s apprehensions as “ridiculous.”
Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, warned that if the intrusion were not stopped, it would lead to “utter chaos.”
“A prerequisite basis for the settlement of the trespass is the unconditional withdrawal of personnel and equipment from the Indian side,” he said after Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh urged China to take a “positive step from its side.”
Sudheendra Kulkarni, head of the Mumbai chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, told Arab News: “This problem would’ve been nipped in the bud had there been strategic trust between Modi and Xi.”
Kulkarni said: “It’s because of lack of trust that the issue has erupted in such a serious manner. Even at this stage, the issue should be resolved peacefully.”
Indian Express columnist C. Raja Mohan wrote: “One of the unintended consequences for China from the Doklam crisis would be an India that is forced to think far more strategically about coping with China’s power.”
But Kulkarni thinks “the strategic shift in Indian foreign policy from a non-aligned nation to a strategic ally of the US is also an issue in this conflict.”
He added: “China is our neighbor, and good neighborliness should be at the heart of any foreign policy.”
Mohan warned that after the Doklam issue, “political goodwill in India toward China that was constructed over the last three decades will be increasingly difficult to sustain in the coming years.”