After skipping the 2024 SCO summit in Kazakhstan, apparently due to scheduling issues, Prime Minister Modi saw fit to attend the summit in Tianjin, China, and with good reason.
“Some progress has been made in terms of reducing tensions (with China),” Kanwal Sibal, former foreign secretary and ambassador to Russia told StratNewsGlobal on The Gist programme.
“There was a need to consolidate on the improved understanding with China without making it a bilateral visit because that would have a totally different connotation, implying that we had actually resolved the issues between us. The SCO gave us a reason to be there, a multilateral setting with no bilateral joint statement to be issued,” he said.
Modi was able to talk to President Xi Jinping, presumably freely, without all of the above hanging over his head. Add to that, a meeting with Putin in his personal limousine followed by another round of discussions in a more conventional setting. Not to forget the Central Asian leaders.
“Given the background of what is happening with the US, it was a reinforced message that you have to do your sums again. Does Trump want to be the president who, wittingly or otherwise, pushed India more into the arms of China? They should be clear about their geopolitical priorities,” Ambassador Sibal said.
“I can understand if there were serious fundamental differences (between US and India), but if it is pure vanity and pique, what should I say? Trump’s, obsession to obtain a Nobel Peace Prize cannot be the basis of serious foreign policy towards a major country like India.”
Ambassador Sibal believes the SCO summit has helped India ensure some diplomatic space for itself at the geopolitical level and there’s a degree of nervousness in the West that India is warming up to Chin a.
Geopolitics apart, how has the SCO helped on the terrorism front? Sibal believes there’s no easy answer to that. American declared war on terror and ended up handing back Afghanistan to the Taliban, similar is the case with Syria.
Add to that terrorism is viewed differently by SCO states. Central Asian countries are extremely concerned about the spillover of Islamic radicalism and terrorism from Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are secular regimes who want to maintain their secular identity.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Kanwal Sibal, former foreign secretary and ambassador to Russia.
Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.
