Indian leader Modi wants no part of China-US rivalry, but still manages to keep Beijing happy
Asia and the world ‘have a better future when India and China work together’, prime minister says
With Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy set to boost India’s role in the region, New Delhi is working hard to avoid being caught in the middle of the growing rivalry between China and the United States, observers said.
That might have explained why Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to avoid mentioning the “quadrilateral strategic dialogue” – a US-led grouping of four regional powers including Australia, Japan and India, also known as “the Quad” – during his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security summit, in Singapore over the weekend.
He also refrained from criticising China ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit this weekend.
Modi’s remarks were well received in Beijing, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying saying on Monday that China was willing to work with India to “safeguard the hard-won positive trend in bilateral ties to increase political trust … and properly manage and control disputes to ensure the peace and stability at the border area”.
Some had speculated that Modi, the first Indian leader to attend the Shangri-La talks, might seek to promote New Delhi’s role in ensuring stability in the region in light of growing concerns about Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea, East China Sea and Indian Ocean. India has been particularly uneasy about Beijing’s growing relationships with its neighbours, like the Maldives and Sri Lanka.