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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India makes business like moves amid ChiPak axis
India is on the path of gradual normalisation of ties with China. The resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is likely to be followed by restarting direct flights and adoption of a new visa regime that will facilitate more travel across categories between both countries. Does this signal a strategic shift? Not really, because China's active political and military support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor is a warning on how deep this nexus runs. At the same time, Indian business is grappling with supply chain issues with China , hit also by latest restrictions on rare earth magnets, other elements and added certification requirements. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category others Project Management Data Science Leadership Others Cybersecurity MCA Artificial Intelligence Operations Management Data Science Public Policy Design Thinking Digital Marketing Technology Product Management Data Analytics CXO PGDM healthcare Degree MBA Management Finance Healthcare Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details At best, it's a pragmatic approach to address supply chain issues. It's important not to confuse this with any major trust reorientation that gives businesses allowance to increase their dependencies on China. The objective, on the contrary, would be to use this thaw to build alternatives without losing out in the immediate run. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Are Unstoppable: The Most Beautiful and Talented Female Athletes Even the US is trying to balance similar contradictions in its China folder, where on the one hand it recognises Beijing as its main competitor and long-term threat, but is willing to talk on securing supply chains for its industry. Even Japan and South Korea are working at ways to ease trade tensions with China. In many ways, a new China realism is at play, where there's an acceptance to deal with Beijing in recognition of its leverage in supply chains as well as its tendency to weaponise this advantage for political gains. So, if the Trump administration is looking to cut deals with China on supply of rare earth magnets, India must also guard its interests. Live Events From an Indian standpoint, there's a basis to this normalisation which flows from the improvement of the situation on the Line of Actual Control. While the de-escalation process is yet to take shape, there are reports of some thinning out of troops. This gives room for conversations on the economic side, which is needed to ensure India is not battling on multiple fronts. If India has supply chain issues, China has its own list of complaints starting with the intensive screening of its companies. It has worries about the future of investments, already locked in India before the Galwan clashes, besides issues arising from investigations into its entities by Indian law enforcement agencies. Eventually, it's about maintaining peace and tranquility on LAC because New Delhi has politically linked this to the economic conversation with Beijing . The earlier dictum, one pushed by China, was to not let differences over the LAC impact development of relations in other areas. Now, of course, the two have been linked, with India conveying constantly that differences should not turn into disputes. By this logic, a thaw on LAC should reflect progress on other fronts. The recent spate of political and official visits, including by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, signal this willingness to re-engage. What India has consciously not done is to politically link the Sino-Pak axis with the bilateral relationship. It's a threat that India will have to counter, for now, through geopolitical play with the US. After all, it's the America question that bothers China. It always wants to know what are India's plans with the US? Will it turn into an alliance against China? What's the big idea with Quad? India mostly answers back, also with the question: What is China doing with Pakistan? Both hedge, knowing well the value of the leverage they hold. Which is why the current thaw should be seen, as a strategic adjustment to buy time for Indian business to derisk supply chains, build alternatives and not a licence to integrate further.
India Today
4 days ago
- Science
- India Today
Akash Prime Missile aces Ladakh test, downs 2 unmanned targets at 15,000 feet
The Indian Army successfully conducted high-altitude trials of the indigenously developed Akash Prime surface-to-air missile system in Ladakh. The upgraded air defense system demonstrated its capability by neutralising two unmanned aerial vehicles at an altitude of 15,000 feet in Ladakh. Akash Prime is described as a deadlier and more precise version of the original Akash missile, which has a range of 25 kilometers and was previously used to defend against threats on the western border. This recent test signifies an enhancement of India's air defense capabilities along the Line of Actual Control with China. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the achievement, stating the missile "has neutralized two threats in air at a height of 15,000 feet."
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Jaishankar in China: A cooperative Beijing is desirable, but a less uncooperative one is India's best bet
Written by Udayan Das For the first time in five years, since the 2020 standoff along the Line of Actual Control, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to China and met President Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng, before heading off to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Council of Foreign Ministers (SCO-CFM) meet. The meeting is consistent with the steps taken by New Delhi and Beijing since late last year to restore some normalcy to bilateral ties. This started with the Modi-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024, followed by a flurry of high-level meetings, including trips to China by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in December 2024 and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in June 2025. Evidently, we are witnessing the renegotiation of a new order on partly new foundations. The earlier order was facilitated through the Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreement in 1993, which agreed to incrementally resolve the boundary question through the maintenance of peace and status quo on the borders. As the treaty brought India and China to the table, it built a modicum of trust and transparency that allowed other avenues like trade to develop. This order, however, was broken with the skirmishes in Galwan five years ago. Compared to the presence of a bulwark of institutional commitments and operational trade, the new order possesses an unpredictability of conflict and weaponisation of trade. The road to a new arrangement, like most diplomatic formulations, would not be easy, quick or foolproof. The visit is one of the many steps necessary to create a positive foundation. The meeting indicates India's strategy of simultaneously cooperating and competing with China. There has always been a consensus that New Delhi and Beijing need not agree and cooperate on every issue. The optimal outcome for India would be to cooperate with China wherever possible and evade conflict entirely. Therefore, a sub-optimal outcome is more plausible for India, where they initiate piecemeal cooperation on immediate issues and simultaneously develop instruments that would restrict the chances of conflict. This would also allow both parties to find passages to de-escalate, in case a conflict breaks out. New Delhi has taken this route, evident from Jaishankar stating to his Chinese counterpart that the emerging foundation should be on the principle that 'differences should not become disputes, nor should competition ever become conflict'. There is a clear division of impending issues that need to be resolved rather quickly, while the rest are put on a slow burner. For India, there is a third kind as well: Issues that have a bearing on the relations but are extremely difficult to resolve, and as a result, remain undiscussed. The border question, in this context, remains the most significant and vexed. It is likely to be put aside for a while, again, as there are no immediate resolutions in sight. For India, the answer remains elusive to the question: How do you deal with a militarily superior power in a border conflict? India has initiated internal strengthening, but that is not going to provide results overnight. External intervention remains unreliable as this is strictly a bilateral issue where third parties would not invest or engage without interests. The plausible ways are to simultaneously keep closing the gap and engage with the rival via diplomatic mechanisms. As disengagement is underway at crucial junctures of Eastern Ladakh, the onus is now to arrange a modus vivendi. The issues that can be resolved quickly are in the domain of trade. China's curbs on exporting rare earth magnets are hurting India's automobile sector badly. The Indian government has rightly initiated incentives for home-grown solutions, but developing an alternative supply chain would take time and not immediately compensate for the Chinese withdrawals. EAM Jaishankar specifically brought up the issue of 'restrictive trade measures and roadblocks' that need to be discussed ahead. Finally, there are issues that are undiscussed, like the case of the China-Pakistan relationship and the issue of the Dalai Lama's succession. India's consistent stand on terrorism is commendable, but that is unlikely to have any effect on Beijing's relations with Islamabad. Irrespective of India's symbolic measures, influence or pressure, China and Pakistan would continue to work according to their realist calculations. It is unlikely that India would bring up the Dalai Lama in official discussions. While China has asserted its role in choosing the successor, India has stated that this remains an issue of cultural conventions and not the state. Despite this, China continues to be irked by the Dalai Lama being housed in Dharamsala, acknowledged as a spiritual leader by many in India. In the months to come, India and China are likely to engage further in the making of this new bilateral order. It will not be easy for New Delhi: It has to hold its ground on many issues, continuously strengthen itself internally, and find ways to engage with Beijing for mutual goals. A cooperative China is desirable, but a less uncooperative one is India's best bet to preserve its core interests. The writer teaches at the Department of Political Science, St. Xavier's College, Kolkata and is a Visiting Fellow with Asian Confluence, Shillong
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Jaishankar in China: A recalibration for regional stability
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to China, his first since the 2020 border clashes, marks a cautious yet deliberate recalibration of India-China ties. In talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Jaishankar's tone was forward-looking and frank. Coming as the two countries mark 75 years of diplomatic relations, the visit underscored both the opportunities for engagement and the urgency of addressing unresolved issues. People-centric initiatives such as resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and enhanced flight connectivity signal a thaw after five years of diplomatic frost. Beyond this, Jaishankar emphasised the core priority for taking the ties to a meaningful plane: peace and stability along the Line of Actual Control. While recent steps towards disengagement are encouraging, India continues to press for complete de-escalation. Jaishankar also flagged trade restrictions and barriers to market access as impediments to genuine economic cooperation. He called for the resumption of hydrological data-sharing and broader trans-border cooperation regarding rivers. These are reminders of regional interdependence that require transparency and trust to thrive. That is why differences need to be addressed and prevented from escalating into disputes. This is not just vital for bilateral stability; it's essential for regional peace. A predictable India-China relationship will shape the broader Asian security architecture and aid India's efforts to navigate an increasingly multipolar world with more strategic space.
The Print
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Fight terror, separatism, extremism—Jaishankar's message at SCO meet, as Pakistan minister looks on
The Indian External Affairs Minister added: 'The UN Security Council, of which some of us are currently members, issued a statement that condemned it in the strongest terms and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so.' 'The three evils that SCO was founded to combat were terrorism, separatism and extremism. Not surprisingly, they often occur together. Recently, we in India witnessed a graphic example in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide,' Jaishankar said in his remarks during the meeting. New Delhi: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) must be 'uncompromising' in its fight against 'terrorism, separatism and extremism'. That was External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's message at the foreign ministers' conference in Tianjin Tuesday, delivered in the presence of Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to China from 14 July till 15 July. He held a number of bilateral meetings with Chinese leaders Monday during his visit to Beijing. He also called on Chinese President Xi Jinping. Tuesday was the meeting of the foreign ministers in Tianjin, which is set to host the Heads of State summit later this year. This is the first visit by the Indian External Affairs Minister to China since the clashes in Galwan in the summer of 2020. Ties between India and China cratered following the clashes. The political thaw in ties was initiated following the announcement of an agreement to disengage at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last October. 'We will continue to positively approach new ideas and proposals that are genuinely for our collective good. It is essential that such cooperation is based on mutual respect, sovereign equality and in accordance with territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states,' said Jaishankar in his message to the organisation. He is the third Indian leader to visit China in the last month as a part of the different meetings under the SCO umbrella, before the leaders summit later this year. It is one of the few forums where both India and Pakistan interact. Jaishankar's message on terrorism and territorial integrity came a couple of months after the 87-hour conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025. On 22 April, terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam killed 26 people. India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. Islamabad further escalated the situation hitting Indian military infrastructure, which led to the short conflict between the two neighbours. Last month, the defence ministers' meeting of the SCO was unable to reach a consensus for a joint statement because they couldn't agree on the language on terrorism. Pakistan had objected to references regarding the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which led to no joint statement being issued. Also read: China offers 'constructive' help in settling India-Pakistan disputes, defends 'friendship' with Islamabad Afghanistan & economic engagement Jaishankar called on the members of the SCO to 'step up' development assistance to Afghanistan, promising that India will do so as well. The Taliban regime has been in control of Afghanistan since 2021. Russia, also a member of the SCO, recently moved to recognise the Taliban-led government in Kabul. 'Afghanistan has been long on the SCO agenda. The compulsions of regional stability are buttressed by our longstanding concern for the well-being of the Afghan people. The international community, particularly SCO members, must therefore step up with development assistance. India, for its part, will certainly do so,' Jaishankar said. With regards to deepening economic collaboration between members of the SCO, Jaishankar pushed for the promotion of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a transport corridor that links Russia to India via Central Asia. The INSTC is different from China's own Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is President Xi's landmark infrastructure initiative. Jaishankar's promotion of the INSTC, which was envisioned in 2000, marks New Delhi's attempt to suggest an alternative to the BRI. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Why do we pretend SCO still works? China runs it, shields Pakistan, sidelines India
