NEW DELHI: Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday struck a careful balance—calling for stronger India-China cooperation on global economic stability while also siding with Japan in expressing concern over Beijing’s maritime assertiveness.
Speaking in Tokyo, Modi said that “given the current volatility in the world economy, it is important for India and China, as two major economies, to work together to bring stability to the world economic order.” He added that India was prepared to advance ties with China “on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity.”
Yet, in the joint statement issued after the annual India-Japan summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, both leaders voiced “serious concern” over tensions in the East China Sea—where Japan and China are locked in a dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands—as well as in the South China Sea.
The statement, coupled with India’s first-ever joint patrol with the Philippines in the South China Sea earlier this month, signals that New Delhi will continue to push back against aggressive Chinese manoeuvres in the Indo-Pacific even as it seeks to stabilise bilateral ties.
India-Japan Security Push
Modi and Ishiba adopted a new declaration on security cooperation, reflecting their shared goal of a “free, open, peaceful, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.” Both leaders also reaffirmed support for the Quad summit that India is set to host later this year.
In remarks clearly directed at China, the joint statement condemned “unilateral actions that endanger the safety and freedom of navigation and overflight” and attempts to “change the status quo by force or coercion.” They also opposed the militarisation of disputed maritime features, stressing that disputes must be resolved in line with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
A Balancing Act with China
Earlier in the day, Modi told a Japanese newspaper that India-China relations had made “steady and positive” progress since his last meeting with Xi in October. He emphasised that “stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China… can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity,” describing them as essential for a multipolar Asia and a multipolar world.
Modi is set to arrive in Tianjin on Saturday evening to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, where his first engagement will be a bilateral with Xi. Both sides have recently stressed that differences should not be allowed to escalate into disputes.
It remains to be seen how Beijing responds to the pointed concerns raised by Modi and Ishiba over the East and South China Seas—a reminder that India’s strategy continues to balance cooperation with caution in its dealings with China.
