Even as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flies to Moscow On Wednesday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ministerial meeting, there are indications now that even External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will take part in the foreign ministers meeting on September 10.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is yet to make an announcement to this effect though. Last week, at a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said, “EAM has received an invitation to participate in the SCO foreign ministers meeting to be held in Moscow next month and as soon as we have a decision on his participation, we’ll inform you.”
Jaishankar has expressed his opinion about his belief that the current LAC crisis between India and China can be resolved through dialogue. This optimism stems from the fact that New Delhi and Beijing have been able to resolve differences, diplomatically, over the last few times – from the Daulat Beg Oldie incident in 2013 to Doklam in 2017.
However, the current LAC tension is now over three-month-old, surpassing any stand-off so far. Add to that, the fresh incident of an attempted ingress by the Chinese army on the intervening nights of August 29/30 on the southern bank of the Pangong Lake.
The Ministry of Defence said, “Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground.”
And, while the brigade commander-level meeting was underway to resolve the fresh crisis, MEA spokesperson said that, “on 31st August, even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation, the Chinese troops again engaged in provocative action. Due to the timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo.”
In response, the spokesperson of the Western Theater Command, Colonel Zhang Shuili, said, “We solemnly demand the Indian side to immediately withdraw its troops that illegally trespassed the border line, strictly control and restrain its frontline troops and earnestly honour its commitment, so as to avoid further escalation in the situation.”
As China continued with its aggressive posturing, India has pulled out of the Kavkaz 2020 military exercise in Russia. India officially said that it had communicated to Russia its inability to join the exercise due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite a pandemic, India had sent a contingent to Moscow in June. Sources had indicated that the hesitation to join the exercise was due to the participation of the Chinese military in the exercise.
Meanwhile, sources have told News18 that India will participate in Indra Navy-2020 “non-contact, at sea only passage exercise (PASSEX)” proposed by Russia in view of the pandemic on the September 4 and 5. Sources said it showcases the level of friendship, trust and interoperability between the Indian and Russian navies.
Jaishankar had also participated in the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meeting on June 23. He had made a veiled remark for China as he came face-to-face, though virtually, with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi within days of the bloody Galwan clashes. He said, “Respecting international law, recognising the legitimate interests of partners, supporting multilateralism and promoting common good are the only ways of building a durable world order.”
The SCO is a political, security, economic alliance currently of eight nations. India and Pakistan were added to the Eurasian grouping in 2017. The original forces behind the alliance were Russia and China. In fact, Russians believe platforms like the SCO can help build understanding among countries. Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin, while speaking to News18 in May, had said that SCO-based coordination are meant to facilitate regional stability and strengthening of mutual trust.
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