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| Astute Diplomacy of China | | |
Rup Narayan
AT a juncture when both India and China are trying to reach out to the world, China’s inclusive global engagement is certainly awesome, and a clear vindication of its astute diplomacy. Beijing has traversed a long distance from isolationism through the Rural People’s Commune and the Cultural Revolution of 1966-69. Since then, it embarked on what the strongman Deng Xiaoping, called China’s “four modernisations” of the Seventies.
The country’s global engagement has been impressive. It established diplomatic relations and pursued a structured engagement with the USA, normalised ties with Moscow and Tokyo and has forged a constructive engagement with the ASEAN. Its diplomatic foray into Africa, with which India has historical and traditionally friendly relations, is very pronounced.
Long before India had renewed its engagement with Africa by hosting the India-Africa conclave in New Delhi in March 2008, Beijing had already made an impact in Africa. China launched a $ 1 billion (Euro 740 million) fund in June 2007 to finance trade and investment by Chinese companies in Africa as part of efforts to nurture commercial ties with the resource-rich continent. The fund is part of the Chinese aid and loans to Africa promised by President Hu Jintao at a meeting with dozens of African leaders in Beijing in November 2006. In March this year, Mr Hu also visited a number of African countries, including the littoral Indian Ocean state of Mauritius, a trusted friend of India.
Well ahead
Within the ASEAN forum, China is ahead of India in forging a free trade regime with the countries of the region. India hopes to finalise the Free Trade Agreement with the grouping when the ASEAN ~ 3 summit meeting, which has been postponed at least thrice, takes place in Thailand. While India has been pitching for greater economic cooperation and interaction in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) forum, China has been proactive in the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) for Regional Mechanism.
India rediscovered the Gulf after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s last visit. Long before that, Beijing had made a dent, thanks to Pakistan, China’s all-weather friend. There has been steady interaction between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council for quite some time. It is imperative for India to catch up with China in a region traditionally and historically closer to India than China.
Crossing Asia and the frontiers of the West, Chinese diplomacy has made its presence felt in far-off Latin America as well. In November 2008, the Chinese President visited Costa Rica, Cuba and Peru. In recent years, China has reinforced its diplomatic engagement and investment in the region with an eye on natural resources and developing the markets for manufactured goods and even arms. The possibility of signing a joint accord with the countries of the region is in a very advanced stage.
Nearer home in South Asia, Beijing’s presence in the region has also been visible. The PLA navy has enhanced its role in South Asia with a growing presence in the Indian Ocean. Chinese naval presence is linked to its energy security interests given the growing volume of oil shipments along the Persian Gulf to the South China sea which are vulnerable to marine piracy.
The strategic implications for India are a matter of concern. The Chinese ‘string of Pearls’ strategy to encircle India through an active naval presence in Myanmar and Bangladesh, besides other South Asian states, are a matter of concern to India. Delhi cannot afford to take a relaxed view of Chinese naval presence which has to be seen in the larger context of geo-strategic imperatives.
Ties with Nepal
As regards Nepal, particularly after the installation of a Maoist-led government in Kathmandu in August last year there was concern in India over the increased Chinese engagement there, a country with which India has traditionally enjoyed a cordial relationship. In fact, Nepal’s former home minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, Bam Dev Gautam, was reported to have told a visiting Chinese military delegation last November that Nepal would ask for Chinese participation in talks to resolve the Indo-Nepalese border controversy.
The Chinese delegation, which also met the then Nepalese defence minister, Ram Bahadur Thapa, asked Nepal to regulate its 1,800 km open border to prevent the easy entry and exit of Tibetans. Nepal in turn asked for Chinese help to resolve the dispute over Kalapani which has been under Indian occupation since the 1962 war with China. Nepal is now saying that since it is geographically the meeting point between China and India, all three governments should sit together in an effort to resolve the dispute. Subsequently, China signed an agreement with Nepal, pledging a military assistance of 18 million yuan ($ 2.7 million).
It is imperative, therefore, that India has to calibrate its diplomatic engagement with the countries of the world, particularly its neighbours. And this has to be done imaginatively and thoughtfully. (Author is freelance writer. Courtesy: The Statesman)
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