Amid China and India's joint efforts to promote the cooling of border
tension since the outbreak of the 2020 Galwan Valley border clash, Thursday
witnessed a positive development, the Global Times reported. The Chinese and
Indian troops in the area of Jianan Daban in Ladakh have begun to disengage in
a coordinated and planned way, according to the consensus reached in the 16th
Round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting held in July, China's
Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on Friday.
Before this meeting, little breakthroughs on
disengagement were made in the previous few rounds of corps commander level
talks, the Global Times pointed out. Last time, the major process was made in
February 2021, when Chinese and Indian frontline troops at the south and north
bank of the Pangong Tso Lake began a synchronized and organized disengagement,
based on the consensus reached in the ninth round of the China-India Corps
Commander Level Meeting in January. The latest disengagement is a step forward.
The disengagement of the front-line troops in Jianan
Daban shows that the Chinese side has created conditions for further
improvement of China-India ties while safeguarding territorial sovereignty. It
is a positive trend that mirrors the easing tensions over the border areas
since the Galwan Valley conflict, Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of
International Studies of Fudan University, told the Global Times.
While affirming the disengagement is positive
progress, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stressed Friday that
China does not accept the so-called status quo on the China-India border caused
by illegal crossing by Indian side over the Line of Actual Control, but this
does not mean that China does not attach importance to the peace and
tranquility of the China-India border area.
However Indian media reported Friday that other contentious issues related to the boundary still remain between the two countries and Chinese forces continue to block Indian access to traditional patrolling areas along the LAC in the Depsang Plains and Charding Nala region.
The Indian Express reported Friday that if the disengagement processes are
completed smoothly and successfully, the stage will be set for Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's travel to Samarkand for the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization summit on September 15 and 16, which will be attended by Chinese
President Xi Jinping. A meeting between Modi and Xi has not yet been confirmed,
but is not being ruled out either. A Modi-Putin meeting is almost confirmed, paper
said.
There have been some other positive signals and
interactions between China and India recently, according to the Global Times.
For example, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in August that
an "Asian century" would not happen unless India and China join
hands. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded to the
statement by saying China and India "have far more common interests than
differences. Both sides have the wisdom and capability to help each other
succeed instead of undercutting each other."
When it comes to China-India ties, the US is the
elephant in the room, the Global Times said adding: The US has always wanted
India to help Washington contain China, exhaust China's strategic resources. On
the other hand, it is undeniable that India has gone far in playing the US card
regarding its China policy over the past few years. "But India has its own
pursuit of national interests, a long-term tradition in strategic autonomy. It
will not behave like an US ally or become a pushover when its own interests are
hurt," according to Qian Feng, director of the research department at the
National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University.
It is hoped India will gradually balance its
policy between China and the US, just like how it has balanced its stance
between Russian and the US. India tends to believe that as long as border
disputes are not settled, there is no room for cooperation in other fields, Zhao
Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International
Studies, told the Global Times.
But China believes the opposite. The bilateral relationship is a big
picture which requires broad vision. Even if border disputes are not fully
addressed, the two countries can still find common interests elsewhere. For
instance, China-India economic trade ties are dented due to the shadows of
border tensions in recent years, but cooperation between the two in this field
has great potential.
And on whether China-India border can maintain
long term peace and tranquility, the key lies in India, lies in whether India
will keep viewing border issues as leverage against China, and provoking
China's determination and will to safeguard its territory and sovereignty, according
to Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan
University.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the sensitive sector.