China and India held their upgraded strategic dialogue in Beijing on Wednesday to boost bilateral ties in the backdrop of sharp differences over Beijing’s reluctance to support India’s NSG bid as well as a UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
“Masood Azhar’s Actions Well-Documented”
India hit out at China for demanding “solid evidence” for getting JeM chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN, saying the extent of his actions were “well- documented” and the “burden of proof” was not on it.
Jaishankar, while briefing the media on his extensive interactions with top Chinese officials, said the talks were “useful” in conveying India’s concerns and priorities on key issues.
“On the issue of 1267 Committee's sanctions on Masood Azhar, we again explained the rationale for that application and pointed out that this was really pursued by other countries, not by India alone,” Jaishankar said, referring to the US’ application backed by the UK and France this year to designate Azhar as a global terrorist.
Jaish itself is proscribed under 1267. So the proof is in (the) 1267 Committee action. In this case what he has done, extent of his actions are well-documented... Also the proposal in question this time is not moved by us. It is not that the burden of proof is on India to convince. The sponsors seem to be very well convinced, otherwise they would not have taken the initiative to move the proposal.
NSG Issue
“On the NSG issue, (the) Chinese side underlined that they are open to India’s application for membership. They have their view of procedures and processes. These were different from where we are at the moment and most of the group is at the moment,” he said, referring to the wide support India's application enjoyed in the 48-member elite grouping, which controls global nuclear commerce.
Jaishankar Meets China’s Foreign Minister
Just before the dialogue, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Welcoming Jaishankar, co-chair of the dialogue, Wang said China and India are two major developing countries and emerging markets, besides being important nations in the world.
“We have to have frequent meetings,” he said, referring to high-level talks held by officials from both sides on critical issues before Wednesday’s dialogue.
The official-level meetings laid a very strong foundation for the “successful strategic dialogue”, he said, adding that the Chinese side attaches importance to “this reconstituted dialogue”.
“I am certain by raising the level of this strategic dialogue the two sides will be able to enhance their strategic communication, reduce misunderstandings and build more trust and deepen our strategic cooperation,” Wang said.
In his statement, Jaishankar said, “This is the first time that the restructured strategic dialogue is taking place. This shows that our relationship today has gone well beyond bilateral manifestations.”
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