Abe cancels trip to protest-hit India amid efforts to counter ‘Chinese challenge’

The Japanese leader was due to meet his counterpart Narendra Modi in northeastern India, which is now the epicentre of anger over a new citizenship law, known as the CAB

Analysts say the summit comes as Japan and India are boosting ties to respond to Beijing’s rise and provide an alternative to its Belt and Road Initiative

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An Indian lawmaker holds a banner in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill at the Parliament House in New Delhi on December 13, 2019. Indian authorities have relaxed curfew in violence-hit parts of the northeastern state of Assam but shut schools until next week as protests continue against a new law that would grant citizenship to non-Muslims who migrated from neighbouring countries. Photo: AP

Published: 5:15pm, 13 Dec 2019Updated: 11:03pm, 13 Dec 2019

Violent clashes erupted in Delhi on Friday between police and thousands of university students over the enactment of a contentious new citizenship law, with the unrest leading Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to cancel a planned visit to India.

“Both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future,” India’s foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a statement.

Several people were injured in the protests, which saw police firing tear gas at the Jamia Millia Islamia university and demonstrators attacking cars in the capital.

The new Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), which was signed into law by the Indian president on Thursday, offers a way to Indian citizenship for six minority religious groups from neighbouring Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, including Hindus and Christians, but not Muslims, which critics say undermines India’s secular foundations.

Abe was slated to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Sunday to Tuesday, and local media said the meeting would take place in Guwahati in northeast Assam state – a region that has become the centre of anger over the citizenship law.

Two people were killed in Assam on Thursday after police fired at mobs who were burning buildings and attacking railway stations. Mobile internet access in the region was blocked and curfew was imposed on major cities and towns.

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