Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has commenced his visit to China as part of an accelerated security dialogue between New Delhi and Beijing, which will also include a visit to the Chinese capital by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Ajit Doval.
The Chief of Air Staff Arup Raha is also likely to visit China in July, defence sources in New Delhi told The Hindu .
India-U.S. dealThe Chinese authorities are expected to focus on institutionalising a defence dialogue at the ministerial level, but India’s “in-principle” acceptance of a logistics support agreement with the United States is also likely to feature on the agenda of Mr. Parrikar’s talks. The agreement is widely seen as a “China containment” measure, but the Chinese foreign ministry has responded with restraint. Analysts, however, say that the India-U.S. agreement is not a “done deal”, on account of its possible negative impact on Indo-Russian military ties, which envisage transfer of cutting-edge weaponry and advanced co-production partnerships, especially in the aerospace arena.
On Monday morning, Mr. Parrikar will hold talks with top Chinese defence officials at the headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He is also expected to call on Prime Minister Le Keqiang. Vice-Admiral Sunil Lamba from the Western Naval Command and Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) are accompanying Mr. Parrikar.
Mr. Doval, to visit later, is expected to hold substantial talks with his counterpart, Yang Jiechi, slated to go beyond just a conversation on the boundary issue. Analysts say that the “atmospherics” for the upcoming talks are positive, as there has been a sharp reduction in incidents along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in May 2015. Observers also say that under Chinese Xi Jinping’s watch, the PLA has been radically restructured, and some hard-line sections of the “old guard” have been weeded out as part of an intensive anti-corruption campaign.
Boundary issueApart from the boundary issue, Mr. Doval is expected to air India’s security concerns regarding the improvement of infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), an expected fallout of the development of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). India is also concerned about China’s involvement in developing Pakistan’s Gwadar port.
The intensification of the dialogue process also includes upcoming talks between External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow, as part of the Russian-India-China (RIC) dialogue, which also commences on Monday.
