four years this week since the Galwan clashes of June 15, 2020 that rocked India-China ties, and the border standoff is yet to be resolved. About 50,000 to 60,000 troops are still deployed on each side of the border. Managing the relationship with China is the most pressing challenge for the Narendra Modi government in its third term. The Prime Minister is likely to be in the same place at the same time as China’s President Xi Jinping during the leaders’ summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on July 3-4. A RAY OF HOPE In APRIL, Prime Minister Modi told Newsweek magazine during an interview: “For India, the relationship with China is important and significant. It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us.” “Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and world,” Modi said. “I hope and believe that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, we will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquility on our borders.” China responded positively to this. In MAY, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed hope for resolving the remaining issues with China amid the border standoff in Ladakh. These outstanding issues primarily revolved around “patrolling rights” and “patrolling abilities” Limiting the dispute to “patrolling rights” and “patrolling abilities” was seen as a nuancing of the Indian position, pivoting away from the earlier stance of “disengagement” and “de-escalation”.

THE RAY OF HOPE BLOCKED?

  • An exchange of messages between the Prime Minister and Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te on the social media platform X — which sources said was the first public interaction between the two leaders — angered the Chinese, who saw this as a provocation.
    • China protested “all forms of official interactions between the Taiwan authorities and countries having diplomatic relations with China”, and asked India not to deviate from its commitment to the ‘One China’ policy.
  • A seven-member bipartisan delegation of the United States Congress met the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala on Wednesday, where former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that while the Tibetan spiritual leader’s “legacy will live forever”, Xi will “be gone and nobody will give him credit for anything”.
    • The Chinese reacted sharply, and “urged” the US to “adhere to its commitments of recognizing Xizang as part of China and not supporting “Xizang independence”. China refers to Tibet as Xizang.