While foreign secretary Vikram Misri travels to China to strengthen relations with Beijing, foreign minister S Jaishankar arrives in New Delhi following a five-day trip to the US for Donald Trump’s inauguration.
India’s ability to maintain a balance between relations with its enemies makes its diplomacy unique in the world. This week is the most recent instance of this. While foreign secretary Vikram Misri travels to China to strengthen relations with Beijing, foreign minister S Jaishankar arrives in New Delhi following a five-day trip to the US for Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar stated 10 days ago, while on a trip to Spain, that India is among the few nations in the world that can interact with Israel, Iran, and both Russia and Ukraine. “This is really, really different. Additionally, it is distinct because of how divided the world is right now,” he stated.
In addition to China, Donald Trump has threatened to slap high tariffs on the BRICS+ nations, of which India is a part. The second-biggest economy in the world, China, has threatened to retaliate if Washington does carry out its threat. China’s position in the Panama Canal has also drawn criticism from President Trump, who has stated that the US will occupy the waterway, even if it takes using force. Conversely, China has cautioned Washington about its engagement with Taiwan. Both countries have imposed sanctions on one another.
ENGAGING ALL SIDES
n the midst of this, India, which PM Modi claims has “always chosen the side of peace,” seeks to work with all parties to achieve beneficial and constructive results. When S Jaishankar met with the US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser earlier this week for their first international meetings since the Trump administration took office, he reinforced India-US bilateral ties. Dr. Jaishankar was also assigned the first seat at the US President’s inauguration as PM Modi’s special envoy.
Following a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia late last year, India’s foreign secretary is heading to Beijing to further strengthen India-China ties after returning from “a very positive” trip to Washington. Ajit Doval, the national security adviser, met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi last month prior to Foreign Secretary Misri’s visit.
REBUILDING AFTER THE STORM
After a four-and-a-half-year military standoff along the Line of Actual Control, or LAC, brought bilateral ties to a grinding halt, China and India, two of the most populous countries in the world and two of Asia’s largest economies, are attempting to strengthen their relationship. Following numerous rounds of diplomatic and military negotiations, an agreement was achieved, and both sides’ troops withdrew from the buffer zones, restoring the pre-conflict situation. This occurred just one week after PM Modi and Xi Jinping made the announcement during a meeting in Russia towards the end of last year. Following this, there were multilateral meetings between the foreign and defense ministries of China and India. Vikram Misri, the foreign secretary, will be the second Indian official to visit Beijing at a high level in as many months, following Ajit Doval.
A WELCOME FROM BEIJING
China has expressed satisfaction with the outcome of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit this weekend. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated, “We welcome Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri’s travel to China for the meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between China and India.”
“Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will be visiting Beijing on January 26 and 27 for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between India and China,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs added. Following the leadership-level agreement to explore the future stages for India-China relations, particularly in the political, economic, and people-to-people sectors, this bilateral mechanism has resumed.
THE AGENDA
The two sides are likely to discuss topics of mutual global interest in addition to bilateral ones like boundary negotiations, preserving peace along the LAC, constructing the largest dam in the world on the Brahmaputra, resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, people-to-people relations, resuming direct flights between the two nations, and making it easier to grant visas to Chinese nationals.
“All matters of mutual interest will be discussed,” the foreign ministry stated during a press conference held in New Delhi before to the visit of the foreign secretary.
The recent sanctions threat to nations doing business with Russia and purchasing Russian oil, which again poses a threat to both nations, and the BRICS+, where both countries face crippling tariffs, may also be discussed. It’s possible that regional topics like the state of affairs in Syria and the Middle East will also be covered.
There will probably also be discussion of the US’s withdrawal from the WHO and the Paris Climate Accord, as well as the urgently required reform of the UN and Security Council.
