China, India, Russia come together for regional peace

Last week, intensive talks between Chinese and Indian officials in Beijing, along with a meeting of foreign ministers of China, India and Russia in Moscow, sent a strong message to the international community that the three countries are intensifying their cooperation and coordination at the regional and international levels.

During his five-day visit to China starting on April 16, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar met with top Chinese political and military leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission Fan Changlong and Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan. On April 20, State Councilor Yang Jiechi met with India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in Beijing for the 19th round of talks on the boundary issue. And two days before that, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Russian and Indian counterparts Sergey Lavrov and Sushma Swaraj attended the 14th Russia-India-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Moscow.

Judging by the Indian officials' visit to China and the joint communiqu�� issued by the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting, one could say China, Russia and India are showing greater political will to accommodate one another's interest and work together to tackle global issues of common concern.

In Beijing, Chinese and Indian diplomats had in-depth discussions on the boundary issue, which is perhaps the most sensitive part of the Beijing-New Delhi relationship. Since the two neighbors have not yet agreed on the demarcation of their 3,488-kilometer border, tensions have risen from time to time straining bilateral relations.

But the decline in border incidents in recent months created a cordial atmosphere for last week's talks, suggesting the two sides are moving toward resolving the knotty issues. The two countries are at a crucial stage of negotiating a framework for a "fair and reasonable" political solution to the border dispute. But to actually reach a solution, both sides need to be more flexible and pragmatic.

In an encouraging sign, China said at last week's talks that it, too, wants to set up a hot-line between the Chinese and Indian militaries. This is another gesture that the two sides intend to deepen mutual strategic trust.

Another encouraging sign came from the trilateral meeting in Moscow, where China, Russia and India agreed on a wide range of regional and international issues. The three countries called for further reforms in the International Monetary Fund and other global financial institutions to give emerging economies a greater say in global financial matters, which at present are dominated by the United States.

Moreover, China, Russia and India for the first time, unanimously called for fully respecting the UN Convention on the Law of Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. They also urged all disputing parties to use negotiations to resolve their differences, which is exactly what China has been insisting on to resolve the South China Sea issue.

The surprising element of the Moscow declaration was India, because it was seen as a rival to China and believed to be backing the US to internationalize the South China Sea issue.

For long, the US has been trying to woo India into its fold to counterbalance China's rise. To this end, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter visited India earlier this month, saying US-Indian relationship is one that will define the 21st century.

But last week's developments show China, India and Russia can work more closely on regional and international issues and respect each other's concerns. As an extra-regional power, the US has its own agenda and strategy in the Asia-Pacific. In fact, when the US began implementing its "pivot to Asia" strategy some years ago, both China and India were believed to be its main targets.

The US strategic rebalancing has raised tensions in the region, intensified the disputes in the South China Sea and disturbed regional peace and stability, which will benefit neither China, nor Russia nor India. Therefore, New Delhi should take a stance on sensitive regional issues using a sober mind.

The author is deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. jasmine@chinadailyhk.com