Xi-Modi summit: Frosty state of ties told in a handshake

The bonhomie of old and trademark Modi hug are missing, replaced by cold, hard calculations.

- Ravi Velloor

When China's Xi Jinping and India's Narendra Modi sat down for nearly an hour of talks last week in the Russian city of Kazan, it was their first meaningful structured meeting in five years – a period of deep stress in the relationship that saw the first loss of military lives in decades along the disputed Sino-Indian boundary.

In the five years prior, the two had met no fewer than 18 times, including in each other's home towns.

The contrast underscores the gulf that has separated them latterly.

Only against that dismal backdrop can the summit, held on the sidelines of the Brics meeting hosted by Russia, be seen as something of an achievement. For the rest of it, the mutual suspicions, rancour, and perhaps even disdain, between Asia's two great powers have not largely dissipated.

For the record, the two militaries are under orders to “disengage” in the two remaining areas of the Line of Actual Control, the so-called boundary, where problems persist.

This means their troops will no longer stand eyeball to eyeball in Depsang and Demchok, the two areas involved. Instead, like an estranged spouse who stays away while the other exercises visiting rights with the children, the two forces will do “coordinated patrolling” – to avoid face-offs.

What remains is de-escalation, which would mean moving their troops farther back into their bases, followed by confidence-building measures. As these proceed, both India and China can conceivably resume full-scale bilateral ties gradually, including direct flights between them. Special Representatives (SR) on the two sides – China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval – who last met in the SR format in December 2019, will resume that dialogue to iron out details.

Given how brittle the situation had been – with soldiers, drones, fighter jets and missiles parked close to their contested border – the Xi-Modi meeting must be considered welcome news.