It seems that the tense relationship between India and China is beginning to relax. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has referred to the nations’ border disputes as “contained”, and is optimistic about progress in their negotiations. While September’s Chinese intrusions into Chumar, an Indian facility in Jammu and Kashmir, where not well received by New Delhi, the general tone has been that India is ready to set aside conflict in favor of economic cooperation.
The planned visit of Prime Minister Modi to China next month is looked to with excitement because of all this. Not only are the possibilities of nuclear energy and other cooperative economic plans to benefit both nations, but a combined Indo-China front will help the two in their negotiations with other nearby countries. This marks the hopeful beginning of “a new paradigm of bilateral engagement”.
Source: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1755445/china-and-india-get-down-business
Intrusions yet “contained”? This phrasing surely is “spin” — but by one? both?!
See other posts for potentially parallel issues with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, among others.
I agree with Professor Smitka. This sounds like a “fluffy” story that was written to ease tensions. I don’t believe these visits and happy photos mean anything in the way of real cooperation or true partnerships. (Especially in such important things as nuclear energy).
It would behoove China to definitively solve these issues for many reasons. One being that China is, as above comments noted, involved in numerous territorial disputes on all sides of its borders. India also threatens China as the next expansive developing economy, so better relations now will lead to more congenial dealings in the arguably more important future.