Sino-Indian bilateral relations are continuing on their southward trajectory. The latest irritant between the two Asian behemoths is tied to the 15th Special Representatives’ Dialogue, which was scheduled to begin in New Delhi on November 28.
As Nitin Gokhale noted in The Diplomat, India has decided to play hardball with China, refusing to bow to “unacceptable” Chinese conditions for holding the dialogue and postponing the meeting between Chinese Vice Minister Dai Bingguo and Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon indefinitely. The decision marks the first time the Special Representatives-level dialogue between the two nations has been put off.
Officials with India’s External Affairs Ministry on Saturday declined to divulge details of the conditions imposed by the Chinese side. However, reports suggest that Beijing wanted India to scrap a Buddhist conference that is scheduled to be held here in New Delhi around the same time because the Dalai Lama is set to attend the event. China is extremely sensitive over the Dalai Lama issue, something India is fully aware of.
India is said to have flatly rejected the Chinese request, even if it meant sacrificing the dialogue for the time being. Still, New Delhi is determined to try to keep relations with its biggest trading partner on track, and it was revealing that India’s External Affairs Ministry has refrained from issuing any official statement on the controversy.
Whatever India’s hopes for bilateral ties, though, the latest incident is set to further strain ties already tense over China’s military build-up along their border and a Kashmir policy that includes the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
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Girish
India’s PM and President keep themselves away from the function. It was good as both the jobs have been accomplished as the functions happened [despite Chinese protest] where as not attending the function by India’s top posts complied with India’s stand that it was not a political function but a religious one.
India is a land of Buddha thus who can stop its religious functions happening in India? I guess on Buddha himself.
Huang
Conferences,relgious or political,are something that should be welcomed and promoted provided they are separated like water and oil since the result would be water becoming undrinkable and oil that would not run machinaries.
What ever discussed at the Buddhist conference better be in line with what our Holy Buddha warned “What ever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear and be influenced by them for good or ills.”
Also, as Buddha observed, “Three things cannot be hidden: the Sun, the Moon, and the Truth.”
Again, religious and spiritual pursuits can be instrumental in bringing about peace and stabilities ONLY when leaders(religious) and followers are as what Buddha put as,”Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.”
Finally, “The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.” again, said Buddha.
May peace and better understandings be the realized for the sake of all.
yang zi
US moved 2500 marines to Darwin, it suppose to counter China’s rise, China didn’t move, India capitulated.
The cancellation of border talks with China, the support to Dalai Lama, the starting of anti dumping investigation of Chinese Resin and Plywood imports, the opening of retail market. All of them are designed to convey a message to Washington, Don’t suspect me.
Like they always say, it’s the capabilities that count. A Vietnam with a communist regime is an ally because it is small. When India does get stronger, it will face same pressure as China now facing from Washington.
Mazo
Fantastical reasoning that is excruciatingly misinformed.
How does US deployment in Darwin have any bearing on India ? As far as India is concerned US presence in South Asia and in the Indian Ocean is most welcome as it has provided a great stabilizing force in the region against terrorists, pirates etc.
It is amusing how the Chinese believe that their “power” is the reason the US is wary about them. Little does China realize that compared to the Soviet Union in 1980s or even the 70s, China’s military “power” is like that of ant’s and ridiculous. If the US really focused on China, like it did against the Soviet Union, the age of warlords would return again to China destroying years of stability.
The US has nothing to fear from India’s rise because it understands India’s motives. India is an “open” country where official policy is openly discussed with Western diplomats and the media and amongst the Indian citizenry. The US government and more importantly the US people have come to understand India better today and this familiarity has eased most of the tensions and built greater trust than before. The frustrations that India faces today are many of the same frustrations the US faced in its history or is facing today, including corruption, crime, weak governance and diverse interest groups using petty politics. Plus, the exposing of Pakistani duplicity and the common threat of terrorism has also brought a greater understanding of India.
Nobody fear’s China’s accumulation of wealth or its growing military capability as much as they fear Chinese motives and future intentions.
Yang zi
Right, like Obama said, “I think the notion that we fear China is mistaken”, how about Nixon, “I am not a crook”.
Fear is a strong word, but don’t be a naive or pretend to be.
John Chan
@Mazo,
Despite China’s repeated expression of wanting to rise peacefully, a good trader of the world to bring up living standard for the world populace, and lending trillions of dollars to the USA for its global imperial expansion, yet USA still treats China as enemy number one because its predatory imperialistic hegemony nature.
India has not done any conciliatory things like China, but India expects it can escape USA’s wrath when it grows to the stage that worthwhile USA’s attention, if one can not call India excruciatingly misinformed and ignorant to the point of delusional, what else one can call.
USA and its lackeys did try to return China to the stage of warlords and era of unequal treaties, but they failed. But when USA turns its attention to India, the stage of pre East India Company is most likely returned to India Peninsula.
a_canadian_observer
@John Chan: “Despite China’s repeated expression of wanting to rise peacefully…” Is this any different from the big bad bandit coming to you saying I’m nice, I’ve come in peace? LOL. CCP’s words bear no credibility.
Girish
Your analysis of concluding that India is not aware of US challenge in future is misinformed. India has and will always work with independent foreign policy and has been successful handling US pressure today as well as when US was actually against India in 70s.
By the way US will be preoccupied with China atleast in next 30 years and India will definitely get much time to develop with both western, Russian as well as indigenous tech with massive economy with youngest people(not to be forgotten). And by the way who know if US will remain a superpower in next 30 years who could afford to get into third cold war with India. Also it could be a possibility that when US start their campaign against India, India might work with the democratic government in China in that time and work together to expel USA from Asia forever.
EAM
@Yangzi, The view that the US presenence is Darwin has something to do with India would come as a suprise to most people in Australia. Other than China, the only other country to raise concerns is Indonesia, not India. While the base is contraversial within Australia with some strong concerns voiced by folks such as Hugh White, we can safely assume it has little to do with India. The US has a major base much closer to India (at Diego Garcia). It is hard to see why they need Darwin if India is whom they have in mind. It also does not add up given that the announcement regarding Darwin happned at about the same time the Prime Minister expressed support for the sale of uranium to India.
Yang zi
@EAM, by your logic, it is not against China either because US already have bases in Japan and S. Korea.
Darwin is a supporting base for now, it can support ops in pacific and Indian ocean. With how india capitulates, US might as well set up a base in India
EAM
If you can point me to any Indian reactions to the Darwin base supporting your reading, please do so.
Girish
@yang Zi
* It is China which cancelled the talk and not India. By the way it is rescheduled now so do not worry.
* Chinese good are pathetic and they are affecting Indian manufacturing and thus anti dumping majors are important at any point of time.
* We not need to send any message to USA, they have already got their share when we rejected their planes and also rejected adopting their military communication and operational procedures [don;t know the technical work for it]
* Opening retail was a long due and due to inflation, it is extremely important to implement now.
The message is clear that India is there to safeguard its interest from Enemies as well as friends.
Good relation between India and US is good for both countries thus Chinese need not to worry about India’s interest. We can take care of it very well.
So far Chinese should check their friends list.
Chris Devonshire-Ellis
The Tibet issue is coming back to haunt China, as it expands its influence, countries around the region that are predominently buddhist are recognizing a lack of trust in China’s intentions precisely because of what happened with Tibet and the Dalai Lama. This includes Mongolia, Vietnam, Burma and India, all of whom have strong buddhist beliefs. Vietnam I may add has recently been having dustups with China in the South China Sea, and remembers the Chinese invasion in the mid 1970’s. Communists they may still be, but entirely friendly is another matter. This lack of trust towards China is directly related to the Tibet issue. – Chris
yang zi
@Chris Devonshire-Ellis,
The Tibetan brand of Buddhism is not popular among South East Asia Buddhists. it is the difference between Mormon and Protestant. South East Asia Buddhists doesn’t think highly of Tibetan Buddhism’s living Buddha system.
Dalai Lama does have influence on Buddhists in Mongolia and Russia, but those government has no interest in letting Dalai Lama use any influence. Think Pope and Catholics in US.
davida
i guess that china will be haunted the same way as india is with kashmir. and strangely, nobody is talking about it. i agree with you that china needs to address this issues as peacefully and urgently as possible. but the lack of international voice on the issue of kashmir is baffling. even the so-called ” saint” dalai lama is turning a blind eye to the plight of people there. my take is because they are muslims, not bhuddists, so nobody bothers about what they want. also as dalai lama is offered this rare sanctuary so close to his home by his indian hosts, he does nt want to insult their hospitality by upholding his divine principle and bringing it up.
speaking of this contentious issue, all but a few are immune from them. philipines has his own muslim insurgency in the south, so do thais. and indonesians are accused of suppressing the freedom and freewill of people of west papua. and malaysian has the inequality and discrimination against chinese and indian enthnic groups, and the list goes on.
building a lasting and mutually benificial relationship requires efforts of both nations and i go so far as to say both countries are at fault for deterioration of bilateral relations. but by pointing finger squarely at chinese, the author reeks of hypocracy and risks inflaming the animosity between chinese and indian bloggers here.
Girish
@davida
They has to be international voice for plight of Pakistan occupied Kashmir who live in miserable conditions as well being exploited by China Pakistan nexus for natural resources and also being exploited by the ISI run terror training camps.
Pratik
why china hate that function. It’s an religious function only. In india any buddy want to talk on any issue no one can stop him to say what he is thinking on it.
If dalai lama wants to talk on Buddhism then who are you chinese to say that what india need to do on dalai lama talk.and when you are government deploy you are military force in pakistan then we don’t have an any objection on it. that’s why you don’t have any rights to objection on dali lama issue …..
yang zi
Because China doesn’t like this Dalai Lama (14th).
Girish
We don’t want to hate China too.
Pratik
to yangzi: our country (india)also doesn’t like pakistan .what you think about that. you give him atomic technology which is now dangerous for world and also for you and india . because taliban , alqyada and other terrorist group think they have capability to acquire such type of atomic weapon.
If you think that pakistani government have capacity to handle it so you wrong because you have to notice about attack on PNS Mehran base in Karachi(pskistan). his own navy military base is not secure which is having more than 2000 solider is present at that time .so they don’t have capacity to handle to it.
and also you need to know about A.Q.khan pakistani nuclear scientist who sell atomic technology to most dang ours country in world..