Yet another China hand will head the Ministry of External Affairs when Vijay Keshav Gokhale takes over later this month as Foreign Secretary from Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, whose extended tenure ends on January 28. (Apart from Jaishankar, foreign secretaries who had served in China include Shivshankar Menon and Shyam Saran.) Given that China is increasingly becoming India’s main foreign policy issue, this can only be a good thing.
At a time when India’s relations with the other major powers are fairly stable and strong, China and Pakistan remain the major challenges before New Delhi. The increasing Chinese economic and political involvement in other states neighbouring India is also a cause for concern. Beijing is also getting involved in Afghanistan and the Central Asian republics, where New Delhi is jostling for strategic space.
Like his predecessor, Gokhale is known to be a quiet but firm man. As ambassador to China during the Doklam crisis last year, he is said to have played a significant role in resolving the issue along with Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval. Before moving to China in 2015, Gokhale had served as ambassador to Germany, high commissioner to Malaysia and Director General, India Taipei Association, Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China). Fluent in Mandarin and Sanskrit, he also served as Director (China and East Asia) and Joint Secretary, East Asia in the Ministry of External Affairs.
This experience is likely to lend weight to the PM’s Act East policy, which envisages greater connectivity with the southeast Asian nations. New Delhi is hosting the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit to celebrate 25 years of the Dialogue Partnership between Indian and ASEAN later this month. Gokhale, serving as Secretary (Economic Relations) since his return from China in October, has all the credentials for the top job. But much will depend on how much of a free hand he is given by the Prime Minister’s Office.