Yang came with a message from President Xi Jinping, that he delivered to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in person, saying that both countries should aspire to become ''friends for generations" and ''partners in rejuvenation"
by Ananth Krishnan
Words matter in diplomacy. And India and China found very pleasant ones to exchange on December 22 at least for two countries that by some accounts came very close to a military confrontation after a 72-day border stand-off in Doklam that ended late August. Moving past Doklam was top of the agenda when China's Special Representative, Yang Jiechi, came calling for day-long talks with his counterpart, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
Yang was promoted to the new 25-member Politburo this October, which might well make the 20th round of border talks his last as a successor takes over in March. But the Doklam stand-off, officials on both sides said, imbued the Delhi visit with added significance. Yang came with a message from President Xi Jinping, that he delivered to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in person, saying that both countries should aspire to become ''friends for generations" and ''partners in rejuvenation", diplomatic language that was new from Beijing, which usually carefully chooses its words and was all the more puzzling considering the recent strains.
For all of the tensions of Doklam, the peaceful resolution underlined that the mechanisms in place largely work, said one Indian official. But at the same time, the official conceded, the stand-off also underlined how miscommunication can snowball into near-confrontation. The Chinese still insist that they had conveyed to the Indian border troops their road construction plans near the trijunction on two occasions. Indian military sources say this plainly wasn't the case. On the contrary, their verbal warnings that extending the road right up to the Indian border and towards the sensitive Siliguri corridor or 'Chicken's Neck', that too in an area India and Bhutan see as Bhutanese, was crossing a red line went unheeded by the Chinese. Thus began the stand-off. The external affairs ministry said both agreed that pending the final resolution of the boundary question, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and in this regard, the SRs exchanged ideas on various confidence-building measures. They also underlined the need for the two countries to build on their convergences, while seeking mutually acceptable resolutions of their differences with due respect for each other's sensitivities, concerns and aspirations.
On Doklam, India reiterated to China that any road building towards the 'Chicken' Neck' that threatens India's security would not be tolerated. China, for its part, has made clear it will bolster its troop presence elsewhere on the contested plateau as it sees fit. "From this dialogue, we can see both sides emphasise communications in the frontlines on the border to reduce misjudgements on the front and the potential for incidents like the Donglang [Doklam] stand-off," said Hu Shisheng, a strategic expert at the China Institute for Contemporary International Relations, Beijing.
A hotline between military headquarters, agreed in principle but not yet operational, will be one avenue. Additional border personnel meeting points will also be considered, as both sides look to manage the uneasy calm on the border.