China and India border tensions flare up again ahead of Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit
Chinese officials urge India to ‘respect’ existing frontier as high level talks aim to clear way for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Qingdao
A fresh war of words has broken out over the long-simmering border dispute between Beijing and New Delhi just weeks before an expected visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China.
Although the two sides have been working to repair relations since last year’s stand-off in Doklam, analysts have cautioned there is still a high degree of mistrust between the two sides, especially given Delhi’s caution about China’s growing influence in India’s backyard.
Officials in China and India have been working on a series of intense high-level engagements. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are expected to visit China later this month to attend ministerial meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The visits are designed to pave the way for Modi to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping when he attends a summit of the bloc, which India joined as a full member last year, in the eastern port city of Qingdao in June.
In the latest test for their rapprochement efforts last year’s stand-off, Beijing urged New Delhi to respect the so-called Line of Actual Control – the de facto border between the two.