China ‘helped defuse Pakistan-India tension’ after Kashmir attack
- Beijing promoted peace talks as New Delhi and Islamabad threatened to fire missiles at each other, Chinese foreign ministry says
China played a “constructive role” in reducing tension between Pakistan and India, the Chinese foreign ministry said, after the nuclear-armed rivals almost came to blows last month following an attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy in disputed Kashmir.
The sparring threatened to spiral out of control and only interventions by US officials, including national security adviser John Bolton, headed off a bigger conflict, five sources familiar with the events said.
A Pakistani minister said China and the United Arab Emirates also intervened to lessen tension between the South Asian neighbours.
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In a faxed statement on Monday, responding to a question on China’s role in reining in the crisis, its foreign ministry said peaceful coexistence between Pakistan and India was in everyone’s interest.
“As a friendly neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China proactively promoted peace talks and played a constructive role in easing the tense situation,” it said.
“Some other countries also made positive efforts in this regard.”
China was willing to work with the international community to continue to encourage the neighbours to meet each other halfway and use dialogue and peaceful means to resolve differences, it said, without elaborating.
The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, is set to meet Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Beijing later on Tuesday.
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The February 14 attack that killed at least 40 paramilitary police was the deadliest in Kashmir’s 30-year insurgency, escalating tension between the neighbours, who said they shot down each other’s fighter jets late last month.
China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather” friends, but China has also been trying to improve ties with New Delhi.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held an informal summit in China last year agreeing to reset relations, and Xi is expected to visit India sometime this year, diplomatic sources say.
