Beijing Review

http://www.bjreview.com APRIL 20, 2017 BEIJING REVIEW 25

WORLD

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ment of the summit.
With the conflict between India and
Pakistan intensifying, there has been criti-
cism in India of Chinaís alleged partiality to
Pakistan. India accuses Jaish-e-Mohammad, a
group based in Pakistan, of being responsible
for the September attack. But China, with
concerns that the move could only escalate
regional tension, blocked Indiaís proposal
at the United Nations to designate Jaish-e-
Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a global
terrorist.
Indiaís efforts to be part of the Nuclear
Suppliers Group were opposed by China on
the ground that countries which have not
signed the non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty
should not be allowed into the grouping
since its aim is to prevent the proliferation of
nuclear weapons.
Subsequently, some steps taken by India
are regarded as being retaliatory. These in-
clude inviting the U.S. Ambassador to India,
Richard Verma, to tour Tawang, a Chinese
territory but occupied by Indian forces. India
has also supported the so-called interna-
tional arbitration unilaterally initiated by the
Philippines on the South China Sea issue.

Chinaís diplomacy

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiativeó
the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-
Century Maritime Silk Roadóis progressing in
the region.
Important cooperation projects between
China and Sri Lanka have got back on track
overcoming obstacles and the Colombo
Port City, a project in the Sri Lankan capital
contracted to a Chinese company, has re-
sumed work. Sri Lankaís friendly policy on
China was affected after Sri Lankan President
Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down in January

2015. The port city project was halted and it
      seemed the Maritime Silk Road would suffer
      a setback.
      However, after Ranil Wickremesinghe
      was elected prime minister in August 2015,
      the construction of the projects resumed.
      Wickremesinghe visited China last year and
      Chinese President Xi Jinping met his Sri
      Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena in
      India the same year, which demonstrated
      bilateral relations are back on track.
      In Pakistan, the CPEC has made progress
      with the Gwadar Port becoming operational.
      The projects in the corridor have created
      thousands of new jobs for local people. Last
      year, Chinese goods consignments set off
      overland from Kashgar in Chinaís Xinjiang
      Uygur Autonomous Region to reach Gwadar
      Port on the Arabian Sea. From there they

were shipped out to the Middle East and

Africa, realizing CPECís concept of ìone cor-

ridor with multiple passages.î

In Bangladesh, Xi paid a visit in October

2016, the first by a Chinese leader in three

decades, and the two sides signed a strategic

cooperation partnership.

The political instability in Nepal remains

a matter of concern. In 2015, then Nepali

Prime Minister K.P. Oli visited China but had

to resign soon afterward. Although Pushpa

Kamal Dahal, the current Prime Minister, has

said China-Nepal relations enjoy a solid foun-

dation and the friendly bilateral relationship

would not change, yet Nepalís instability has

a negative impact on bilateral cooperation

projects.

Xi also attended the BRICS-BIMSTEC

(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral

Technical and Economic Cooperation) in

India last year, where he expounded Chinaís

position on the development of relations

between the two groupings. Xi urged the

member states to work together to promote

regional economic integration and advance

the connectivity of the region.

Unclear U.S. policy

As for the situation in 2017, the new U.S. presi-

dent is a critical factor. Donald Trumpís policy on

India will impact all of South Asia.

India is seeking to establish early con-

tacts with Trumpís team for a smooth

transition of bilateral relations. S. Jaishankar,

Foreign Secretary of India, has met Trumpís

team to build a dialogue channel between

the two sides.

While Indian analysts generally believe a

Trump presidency is good for India, they still

have some reservations. For example, the

protectionist nature of Trumpís economic

policy will affect Indiaís outsourcing industry.

The overall view is that India and the

United States will have some hiccups in

economic cooperation while their defense

and security ties will improve. It is widely

believed in India that Trumpís anti-terrorism

policy and his administrationís policy toward

Russia, Pakistan and China will inadvertently

strengthen Indiaís ties with the worldís only

superpower.

The diplomatic landscape in the sub-

continent is also subject to some other

upcoming events this year. There are signs

that Russia is considering to join the CPEC;

The Belt and Road Forum on International

Cooperation to be held in Beijing in May

might have some impact on decision-makers

in South Asia; India and Pakistan will become

full members of the Shanghai Cooperation

Organization in June this year. Q

Pakistani soldiers take part in an anti-terrorist drill at Multan International Airport in Multan on March 19, 2015

XINHUA/AFP

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

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