External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Beijing on Saturday to insulate and advance a growing economic relationship with China, from the headwinds of competing geopolitical interests in the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific.
Ms. Swaraj’s arrival follows a high-profile visit to India by U.S. President Barack Obama. “The Presidential visit will not be the focus of discussions, but it is quite likely that the Chinese hosts and the Russians later would be interested in hearing about the visit directly from the visiting minister,” a diplomatic source told The Hindu .
The Sino-Indian border differences are unlikely to draw prime attention during the talks between Ms. Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
ADVERTISEMENT
Significantly Ms. Swaraj routed her journey to the Chinese capital through Kunming — one of the starting points of the 21 st century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) — a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping. China has invited India to join the MSR, but New Delhi has so far, refrained from making a firm commitment. Starting from Kolkata, Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, is also the point of termination of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor — a part of the MSR, which the Indian side is negotiating with the Chinese. However, India has become a staunch supporter of the China-initiated, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is also likely to be used for funding MSR projects.
Sources say India’s reservations on the MSR stem from China’s forays in the Indian Ocean, including Sri Lanka, which was visited by a Chinese submarine, and Maldives. The Chinese, on their part have resented the joint oil exploration bid by India and Vietnam in the South China Sea.
Modi’s China visitADVERTISEMENT
Ms. Swaraj’s visit is also seen as preparation for Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China later this year. The Prime Minister is expected to visit Kailash Mansoravar, which has now been connected by a new route through Nathu La in Sikkim. After talks with her Chinese hosts on Sunday, Ms. Swaraj will confer with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on February 2. This would be followed by a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China (RIC) grouping, and a dinner hosted by Mr. Wang. Ms. Swaraj is also slated to call on Mr. Xi on Monday. Analysts point out that Ms. Swaraj’s visit is in the crosshairs of two competing trends —Washington’s charm offensive towards New Delhi and the deterioration of ties, following the crisis in Ukraine, of China and Russia with the United States. The Chinese are working feverishly to counter the accumulation of forces in the Pacific under President Obama’s “Pivot to Asia” by sharpening their nuclear and conventional deterrent. Facing sanctions, Moscow is consolidating its energy and defence ties with China in Eurasia, buttressed by currency swap agreements that allows payments in local currencies — the rouble and the yuan.
“Frankly the timing is perfect to test India’s multi-vectored diplomacy. New Delhi is in a good position to leverage its relationship with the United States to move into strategic areas of cooperation with China and Russia,” a diplomat said. The Russian news agency, Sputnik, is reporting that Moscow and New Delhi are considering using their national currencies in bilateral trade to reduce their dependency on the dollar.