Advertisement
Despite a China-India thaw, military relations are stuck in 2020
Xi and Modi have shaken hands, border trade has reopened and direct flights have restarted – but their armies are still not talking to each other
4-MIN READ4-MIN
Gaurav Kumar is a researcher at the Centre for Professional Military Education in the United Service Institution of India, New Delhi.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi three times in the past three years. Indian pilgrims are back at Kailash, the Tibetan mountain sacred to Hindus and Buddhists. Air China has restarted flights to New Delhi. But can trust grow between two armies that meet only in a crisis?
And why does the Pentagon now talk to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) more easily than India’s army does?
In September, Xi made his first visit to India in nearly seven years; Beijing says it wants both countries to be “good neighbours and friends”. Later that month, US President Donald Trump hosted Xi at the White House. Two capitals welcomed Xi. But only one lets its army talk properly to China’s.
The Sino-Indian thaw has reached everything except the military. Direct flights have returned after nearly six years. Three border trading points have reopened and trade now stands at more than US$100 billion a year. Leaders, traders and pilgrims cross the Himalayas. Why not soldiers?
Select Voice
Select Speed
1x
AI-generated voice
