Making sense of the Wuhan reset

Making sense of the Wuhan reset

India china

Article

1. MK Narayan, former National Security Advisor has analysed the India- China relation in the context of resent informal summit in Wuhan.

Important Analysis

2. The wisdom of holding an informal summit when other avenues of diplomacy are available is debatable.
3. Reason to choose Wuhan

• Wuhan is symbolic of China’s resilience and economic might today.
• To show case the wide gulf between ‘Made in China 2025’ and India’s ‘Make in India’ programme.

4. Reasons for India to choose informal summit

• As a trust-building exercise
• To discuss contentious issues with China away from media glare and publicity.
• To quietly sort out problems that existed between the two countries such as border issues.
• To project that India and China are on the same page in dealing with global problems.

5. Reasons for China to choose informal summit

• To extract some concessions from India as the price for agreeing to an informal summit, viz. putting curbs on the Dalai Lama’s activities in India or backing away from the U.S. policy of containment of China in Asia.
• China wants to advance its support in its favour in Asia and elsewhere to counter the US.

6. PM Modi define the relationship between India and China is based on five principles Soch (thought), Sampark (contact), Sahyog (cooperation), Sankalp (determination) and Sapne (dreams).
7. Background of the summit

• Leaders of China, Japan and South Korea met in Japan to devise measures that were needed to move ahead with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (India is a part of the RCEP, but a reinvigorated RCEP, alongside a China-Japan reset does not augur well for India).
• Just before India-China talks, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang was in Tokyo to meet his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe as part of a major two-stage initiative. This helps to remove improve trade and strategic relation between the two countries.

8. China’s position globally

• US and Europe are not ready to confront China globally
• China plays vital role in the maintenance of peace in Korean peninsula
• China –Russia improves recently
• China establish new equation in West Asia, including with Iran
• In south Asia, China positioning itself as an alternative to India

9. Take away of summit

• An agreement between the leaders for provision of greater ‘strategic communications’ at the highest level.
• To give ‘strategic guidance’ to the respective militaries to build trust and understanding for ‘prudent management of differences with mutual sensitivity’.
• To work together jointly on an economic project in Afghanistan.
• Both have agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in all areas of the India-China border.
• Both sides reiterated the need to cooperate on counter-terrorism.
• The summit appears to have reinforced the validity of 2005 document ‘Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the Boundary Question’, which was signed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

10. Concerns over the summit

• Doklam issue not discussed
• No change in China’s stand over Arunachal Pradesh
• China’s penetration of India’s neighbourhood is set to continue, with special emphasis on countries such as Nepal and the Maldives.
• China-Pakistan Economic Corridor remains unresolved.
• China focuses on building strong naval and air defences, bolstered by the infusion of high technology.

11. India should be concerned about Beijing’s defence budget for 2018 which increased by 8.1% over that of the previous year, to build a world class military. This could further encourage China to expand its activities in the Indian Ocean region.