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As I see it | Why China’s ‘condescension diplomacy’ will be of no help in resolving regional disputes
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s remarks that third parties should be kept out of Sino-India ties and the South China Sea row suggested nations are incapable of taking unilateral decisions
- Beijing should avoid ‘condescension diplomacy’ and instead reach out to neighbours and address their discomfort with its heavy-handed policies
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One theme stood out for me while listening to a press conference this week by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
And that is China’s seeming world view that countries in the region are not quite capable of making their own decisions and are often subjected to the “interference” of others.
Replying to a question on India-China relations, Wang said that as major countries with a population of over a billion, only by staying independent “can we firmly grasp our own destiny and realise our goals of development and rejuvenation”.
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“As we have seen, some forces have always sought to stoke tension between China and India,” Wang said on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament.
Asked whether Beijing and Asean countries can overcome their differences and reach a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea, Wang warned the bloc to “firmly thwart disturbances” from countries outside the region who do not wish to see tranquillity in the disputed waters.
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