Dear Editor,
Media reports on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to China confirm that he has raised all major bilateral issues with his host. These issues, which are of serious concern to us, include the issuance of stapled visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh, China’s huge infrastructure investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the need for a quick border settlement, and the massive trade deficit. However, as feared, there seem to have been few positive responses from the Chinese.
This seems to be the basic problem of Sino-Indian ties since the communist take-over of China in 1949: Sweet talk on the surface and deception in reality. Modi may seem less romantic and more shrewd than Jawaharlal Nehru, but he is equally over-enthusiastic about warm, neighbourly relations with China. Several China
watchers have warned Modi about our neighbour’s
two-faced nature, and its expansionist and aggressive tendencies.
M Ratan
New Delhi