China, India, Russia come together for regional peace

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

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 communiqué 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.