India and China agreed on Tuesday to put the Doklam standoff behind them and move forward in their relationship. “We want to put the relationship on the right track,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told Prime Minister Modi, reported the PTI.
“Met President Xi Jinping. We held fruitful talks on bilateral relations between India and China,” Modi tweeted after the meeting in Xiamen. The leaders have agreed that the two nations should make efforts to ensure such incidents do not recur, sources said. “This includes strengthening of cooperation between security personnel.”
“It was a forward-looking conversation,” said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar when asked if Doklam was discussed. “It was reaffirmed that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is a prerequisite for the development of relations,” he said.
Former Indian ambassador to China Ashok Kantha said China, being the host of the BRICS summit, wanted to produce positive results. “Other BRICS members, too, wanted strong language to be used on terror,” said Kantha, who is the director of the Institute of Chinese Studies. “As for the meeting between Modi and Xi, message coming from both sides is that there is a clear attempt to put Doklam behind.”
“What happened in Doklam was emblematic of a larger problem, in terms of how China is dealing with contentious issues and its own engagement with India. These things cannot be brushed aside and needs to be structurally addressed by both sides. As far as Pakistan is concerned, I don’t really see any dilution of the strategic linkages between Beijing and Islamabad. This is a matter of serious concern for us, because it impacts our national interests,” he added.
Meanwhile, a day after its “all-weather ally” joined India and three other nations in naming and blaming Pakistan-based terror outfits, Islamabad rejected the declaration saying there was no “safe haven” for terrorists on its soil. “Pakistan has taken action against all groups on its soil and only the remnants of some are left,” said its Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir.
Modi arrives in Myanmar on first bilateral visit
Myanmar President Htin Kyaw on Tuesday welcomed Modi, soon after he arrived in the country on his first bilateral visit. The PM’s visit to Myanmar comes amid a spike in ethnic violence against Rohingya Muslims.