No encirclement by China, says V.K. Singh

What to know?

• Rejecting the idea of a Chinese encirclement of India under the so-called ‘String of pearls strategy’, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen (Retd.) V.K. Singh called 2018 a landmark year in bilateral relationships where Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to hold the Wuhan summit without any agenda.
• “I don’t think we are surrounded,” he further stated, giving instances of the different nature of relationships India and China had with various countries.
• China has built a series of dual use facilities in the Indian Ocean Region around India which began to be referred to as String of Pearls.
• On the Wuhan summit which broke the chill in the relationship after the 2017 Doklam stand off, Mr. Singh said the aim was to achieve a personal relationship.
• It was a very conscious decision that was taken since the land boundary is complex and there is a mechanism already set for it which will carry on,

Beyond border issues

• Since the land boundary is a complex issue and there is a mechanism already set for it which will carry on, Gen. Singh said, adding that it was a conscious decision to develop the relationship in different areas and focus on people-to-people contacts, economics, commerce, investments in each other’s country so that it brings down those fixations and hard stances which exist.
• There was no principle of reciprocity in India-China relationship referring to the One China and One India policy, thinkers reiterated.

(Bilateral)(The hindu)

Pic courtesy:NDTV.com