Ahead of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India, China said that India should avoid ‘unnecessary entanglement’ in the South China sea dispute, to maintain the basic framework of China-Indian bilateral ties. Xinhua news agency a state-run Chinese daily said that it is ‘puzzling’ that India is interfering on matters of South China sea, and said that it can have ‘unnecessary side effects’ which can affect economic ties as well as the NSG bid. The question the agency asked was that if it is of any worth for India to deal into South China sea issue when it doesn’t have any territorial disputes there. It can only impact the co-operation among India and China. It also said that India’s attitude will not affect in anyway as many other countries support China’s claim in the South China sea region. Rather, according to the daily, India’s shift of focus from ‘geopolitical competition to economic issues’ can only decline exports to China, which is the second largest importer in the world.

After China stalled India’s Nuclear Supplier’s Group (NSG) bid Wang’s visit is the first high-level visit between India and China. Recently, there was also an issue of Chinese troops transgressing into India-China border in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. Wang Yi is on a three-day visit to India. If the title of the article ‘India should join China in rising above differences, forging closer partnership’ is any indication, Xinhua news agency’s commentary clearly indicates a juxtaposition of both the issues of India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the South China Sea (SCS) dispute. The article also said that the door is not yet ‘tightly closed’ for India’s NSG bid and that India must ‘fully comprehend’ Chinese concerns over the South China Sea issue, as China had already faced a setback after the international tribunal verdict asking the country to strike down expansions in the area.

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“What should be noted above all else is that India has wrongly blamed China for blocking its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),” the daily said. India will host BRICS summit in October, and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be present there as well.

(with agency inputs)