Amidst Doklam crisis, diplomatic activity for PM’s BRICS visit to Xiamen picks up

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday exuded confidence that the next month’s summit of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping would be held as scheduled, but evaded a direct response on whether the Doklam standoff between Indian and Chinese troops may persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi to skip the conclave.

“Preparation for BRICS Summit in Xiamen is under way. Preparation has proceeded in an orderly fashion and has reached an advanced stage,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, when asked whether Mr. Modi might not attend the summit. “China is confident that with the concerted efforts of all parties, the summit will achieve success and scale a new high level for BRICS relations,” she observed.

Analysts say the diplomatic activity in preparation for Mr. Modi’s visit has picked up, in view of the need for evolving a “framework formulation” that could begin a process of de-escalation of the Doklam crisis, before the Prime Minister embarks for Xiamen — the venue of the conference.

Also Read Modi breaks protocol to meet Deuba

Pullout of troops

The spokesperson reiterated the Chinese demand that the unilateral pullout of Indian troops from Doklam was a precondition to solve the crisis.

“You also mentioned illegal trespass of Indian border troops. Our stand has been very clear. Unconditional withdrawal of all trespassing personnel and equipment serves as the prerequisite and the basis for settlement of this incident,” she said.

In view of the apparent attempts by India and China to jockey for influence in Nepal and the region, Ms. Hua also commented on the ongoing visit of Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to New Delhi. “China is happy to see the development of sound and healthy relations between Nepal and India.”

However, she highlighted two additional points. First that India and China could co-exist in developing ties with Kathmandu. “In the 21st century, international relations are not a zero-sum game or the counter-balancing between countries,” she stressed.