Not much comfort from India-China meeting in Moscow

For the first time in over four months, a faint glimmer of hope has appeared on the Himalayan horizon. During their talks in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi reached consensus on five points, including directions to border troops to continue to engage in dialogue, quickly disengage and maintain distance, and to abide by pacts to maintain peace on the border. The two sides also agreed on the need for new confidence-building measures. This is a welcome development.

The situation along the LAC has been very serious for several months and although several rounds of talks have taken place in recent months between military commanders and diplomatic officials as well as ministers, most of these were unproductive. This was the case with earlier talks between Jaishankar and Wang as well. That their meeting this time around saw them reach consensus on some points is itself a breakthrough of sorts.

The meeting also produced a joint statement. The Moscow meeting’s success, limited as it is, signals that there is still scope for diplomatic engagement to defuse tensions along the border.

And yet, India must treat the outcome of the Moscow meeting with caution. The consensus points are nothing new. We have heard these words before. The gap in positions persists. In Moscow, the Chinese insisted that India had provoked the tensions and so would have to withdraw its soldiers from flashpoints in Ladakh. This is a ridiculous demand that is unacceptable to India. And although the meeting did produce a joint statement, Beijing apparently has not issued it yet.

A statement it did release lays bare the fudging of facts. It says that India does not consider development of Sino-Indian ties to be dependent on settlement of the disputed border, a claim that is at odds with the position that India has reiterated frequently. It is hard to dispel the feeling that the consensus reached in Moscow is superficial, perhaps even momentary.

The situation on the ground, too, does not bode well. Over the last 48 hours, the PLA is reported to have mobilised heavily at Pangong Tso. India is not interested in going to war with China. Hence, its diplomats must step up engagement of their Chinese counterparts to fulfil promises made at Moscow. Meanwhile, the Indian military should keep up pressure on China on the ground. That is the only way to make Beijing take diplomacy more seriously.