Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was unable to understand the Chinese following reports of their plan to construct a dam across the Brahmaputra, extend military support to Pakistan, oppose the integration of Kashmir with India, lend support to Maoists and refusal to see reason in sorting out the border issue (“A Himalayan balancing act”, July 1). What is more, China establishes a “string of pearls’ to encircle India. Irked by India’s oil exploration in the South China Sea and U.S.-Japan-India naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, China has refused to play ball with India on its bid for NSG membership.
However, it is not the end of the road for India whose membership application is acknowledged by many NSG members to have some merit of its own. A brash China policy will not only stymie relations between the two countries but also give a handle to Pakistan to further provoke India. What India needs is persuasive and incremental diplomacy to improve relations with Beijing.
Kangayam R. Narasimhan,
Chennai
