New Delhi: A defence ministry-funded think tank hosted top scholars from the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) and discussed ways to rebuild trust between India and China amid a stalemate at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
This is the first physical meeting between the two sides since tensions broke out at the LAC in 2020 after China’s ingress into India’s territory in eastern Ladakh, leading to the biggest-ever military build-up between the two countries since the 1962 war.
“Our institute, i.e., the MPIDSA (Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses), and SIIS are old MoU partners. As in, they (SIIS) are one of our many dialogue partners around the world, including several in China,” Sujan Chinoy, former diplomat and director general of MPIDSA, told ThePrint.
He added that this was the first physical face-to-face meeting held by both sides since the Covid outbreak, during which there had been military tensions at the LAC. However, he added that MPIDSA and SIIS also held online interactions during that period.
He argued that the job of think tanks is to engage, which is what MPIDSA has been doing. “This is not governmental talks. Governments from both sides are talking at military and diplomatic levels. Think tanks are Track II, and their job is to talk,” he said.
MPIDSA wrote in a post on X that both sides discussed ways to rebuild trust between the two countries. They also exchanged views on global and regional strategic issues, it said.
Scholars from @IDSAIndia and SIIS #Shanghai discussed ways to rebuild trust between the two countries. They also exchanged views on global and regional strategic issues. pic.twitter.com/SRcdRhce3A
— Manohar Parrikar IDSA, New Delhi (@IDSAIndia) April 1, 2024
Chinoy delivered the inaugural remarks at the dialogue with the SIIS delegation from China. He provided an overview of bilateral ties and stressed the importance of rebuilding trust between India and China.
Professor Chen Dongxiao, president of SIIS, led the Chinese delegation.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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A welcome move. Apart from anything else, a composite two front challenge adds to demands on the fisc.