As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa, amid a stand-off between the two countries in Ladakh, government sources listed exclusively for News18 the reasons forcing Beijing to de-escalate the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
According to Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, PM Modi, in the conversation with Xi, highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the Western sector of the India-China border areas.
The two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation.
PM Modi underlined that maintenance of peace, tranquillity in border areas, respecting the LAC essential for normalisation of India-China ties, Kwatra said.
THE INFRA PUSH
According to sources, among the many reasons compelling China to improve the situation is the infrastructural push by India at LAC after the Galwan incident:
- India has gone all out on development at LAC in terms of bridges, roads, tunnels, helipads and other basic infrastructure needed for smooth movement of troops
- Not just in Ladakh, similar development has been carried out at Arunachal and Sikkim too
- Mega road projects are under construction
- By 2026, there will be an “alternative" connectivity to western Ladakh and the Zanskar Valley directly from Manali
- In March, the Government of India made a committee to monitor development around LAC where supervision was given to top secretaries from all ministries concerned. The infrastructure push was necessary after deployment of more troops.
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
According to sources, China can’t afford to annoy the international community any further. “They are getting a bad name over the Uighyur human rights issues, Tibet and Taiwan. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has not been launched, while there is an image issue in Pakistan and Sri Lanka," said sources.
The world sees China behind the complete economic collapse of Sri Lanka, they said. Moreover, countries such as Sri Lanka, Maldives, Laos, Australia, Angola, Greece, Djibouti and Kenya are already in China’s debt trap.
“It’s not only India who is criticising China for these policies, but many others like Japan, too, over the East China Sea," they said.
In case of the South China Sea, too, China is aggressive, with objections from Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, too, are facing military threats from China.
Sources said, “India wants peace at the border and will keep engaging with China. Our infrastructure is ready and defence capabilities are in place. All decisions will be taken through talks."
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