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Diplomatic efforts to tame the Dragon gain momentum

This follows the failure of several rounds of talks at the military-level between India and China.

With several rounds of talks at the military-level failing to end the standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India has started giving momentum to diplomatic efforts to get the desired result. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is working on three-pronged strategy towards that end.

One, the MEA is using every international forum to raise this issue and getting the global community to put pressure on Beijing for its misadventure along the LAC. This diplomatic strategy is already in full swing.

Second, the Indian diplomatic team is about to fix a high-level meeting of MEA officials with their Chinese counterparts to resolve the impasse. This includes joint secretary level meet with the Chinese counterpart in the near future.

Third, diplomats will reach out to the political leadership of China in a bid to put pressure on the government in Beijing. The diplomatic team has started implementing the third part of the strategy.

Indian Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, on Wednesday held talks with a senior official of China’s ruling Communist Party in Beijing and discussed the situation at the border in eastern Ladakh and overall bilateral relations.

Misri’s meeting with Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission, came amidst diplomatic and military-level talks between India and China on disengagement of troops from all friction points in eastern Ladakh.

Though no official information has come on what transpired between the Ambassador and CPC leader, sources do confirm that the Indian diplomat told the CPC office-bearer in no uncertain terms the implications of what is going on in east Ladakh. In a polite manner, Misri told China’s ruling party leader how the PLA’s adamance is fraught with the risk of the other areas of bilateral relations between both the neighbouring countries being badly affected, say sources.

“The political leadership must come forward and take a view of all this, and impress upon the military leadership of China to disengage there.” In fact, Indian Ambassador sought to drive home the message that misadventure of PLA troops is putting China’s other interests at risk not only with India, but other nations of the world. There’s no denying China has already started experiencing the outcome of it.  

Sources told The Daily Guardian that this is the first meeting of the series of upcoming parleys that Indian diplomats will hold with the Chinese political leaders in the days to come. In all these meetings, several facts, figures and data will be put forward to impress upon the government of China that military standoff won’t be in its interest. Sources believe that China is under pressure from several countries like US, UK, Japan and Australia, with more nations raising pitch against it. It is in this backdrop, the Indian diplomats’ interaction with leaders linked to Chinese government may create more pressure.   

 “Ambassador @VikramMisri today met H.E. Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and briefed him on India’s stance vis-à-vis the situation on the borders in eastern Ladakh UT and overall bilateral relations,” the Indian Embassy tweeted.

Misri’s meeting with Liu comes against the backdrop of reports that the disengagement process between the troops of the two countries has not moved forward as expected along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The Ambassador’s meeting with the CPC leader is also being seen as an exercise to set the stage for the foreign ministry’s joint secretary level meeting which is being planned at present. After all efforts to break the deadlock at military level failed, high-level diplomaticlevel meetings are the only option left. A date is being finalised. The Indian ambassador might have indicated to the Chinese government about this plan too.

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