Kishan S Rana Former Ambassador and visiting fellow at Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi
The management of any relationship is very complicated, more so when countries are involved. About 14-15 years ago in Singapore, a friend showed us some software which presented a scenario that is the relationships between several different actors in a 3D graphic form. It looked very nice but the effort was to show you might be able to do scenario planning, things which is used by the military, think tanks where you try and understand the complex situation by assuming that seven different actors play their own roles in a situation.
It is supposed to show how complicated the interplay between actors actually affects everyone else and the actors themselves. This can be imagined in any real situation. For example, Nepal cannot deal with India without its China option because it is sandwiched between the two countries. For a long time, it depended on India but the picture has changed now as the China border is an active one.
The bilateral relationship between India and Nepal is actually a triangular one because each side has to put in their calculation as to how the third side will act. The same is with Sri Lanka. This just emphasises the complex set of relationships that are at play.
In terms of India and China, these two largely populous, major powers of Asia are also dealing with other countries including Pakistan. We cannot simply take a position that China has said something on Pakistan and that statement becomes the central pillar of the India-China relationship. We may feel it is a major issue and affects the relationship but there is more to the relationship.
In dealing with China, the memory of 1962 has a different impact on each of the two countries. In China, people do not think very much about the war. They have no particular memory. That is not the case in India. Here, 1962 is a constant memory. Every time China is mentioned, the war and the humiliation cannot be forgotten. With Xi Jinping’s visit, you see many references to ’62. The trauma of the war is unilateral.
We need to keep in mind the turbulent relations between China and Japan shared in the past and the extremely good bilateral ties that they share today to make a sort of roadmap to move further in Sino-Indian ties. Any ordinary Chinese person will admit that they do not hold any prejudices against the Japanese, but harbour an intense dislike for them due to their past.When China can put aside its differences with Japan and have cordial ties, it should serve as a lesson for us to improve bilateral ties.
The informal talks — first in Wuhan and now in Chennai — are a sign of steps taken in the right direction. Despite keeping our larger issues in mind and not discrediting them, both countries and leaders have been mature enough to look forward and keep the bilateral ties intact, in fact improving them, on various issues which the two countries have potential in harbouring common interests like Information Technology, pharmaceuticals and tourism.
How do we deal with China?
We see China has a very big power, typically 4-5 times larger with respect to many issues like GDP, scientific research, military spending. One thing we don’t often grasp when we look at foreign policy is the biggest challenge of economic development. Without economic development, we cannot be the India of our dreams.