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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: India China U.S. (TV)
HEADLINE: Frozen India-China ties thawed in 2024
TEASER: Analysts say lowering of tensions between India and China will not impact New Delhi’s growing ties with the U.S.
PUBLISHED AT: 12/23/24, 11:33 am
BYLINE: Anjana Pasricha
CONTRIBUTOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR:
DATELINE: New Delhi
VIDEOGRAPHER: Anjana Pasricha
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Decherd, DLJ
VIDEO SOURCE: Reuters, AFP, original
PLATFORMS:
TRT: 3:24
VID APPROVED BY: Baragona
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:)) Please send edit to anjana.pasricha@gmail.com
((INTRO)) [[Ties between India and China witnessed a thaw in 2024, with both sides pulling back some troops from flashpoints along their border. But analysts say mistrust between the Asian giants will pose a challenge to restoration of friendly ties. Analysts also believe the India-China rapprochement will not affect India’s strategic cooperation with the United States. From New Delhi, Anjana Pasricha has a report.]]
((Video: Military transport plane in Ladakh, soldiers loading supplies, Indian parliament session, set up shot of Indian foreign minister Jaishankar Subramanian, military vehicles moving on road along border))
((NARRATOR))
After Indian and Chinese troops withdrew from two flashpoints along their disputed Himalayan border, the Indian foreign minister told parliament that ties were set in the “direction of some improvement.” But he stressed the need for stability on their frontier.
((Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Indian Foreign Minister )) (( Male in English))
"We are clear that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas is a pre-requisite for the development of our ties.”
((Video: Various shots of Indian soldiers in military exercise near disputed India-China border))
((NARRATOR))
While troops may have stepped back from eye-to-eye confrontation, tens of thousands of soldiers are still spending a fifth winter in the Himalayas.
(( For radio: Swaran Singh is a professor at the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.))
((Swaran Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University )) (( Male in English via Zoom))
“The mood on the border, the very thinking, operational instructions on the border over four years has been one of preparing for war. Therefore, turning them back into peacetime deployments is going to be operational, mental, psychological and structural activity in that sense, which again is going to take a certain amount of time, over period of time.”
((Video: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Dec 18th Beijing meeting, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at October BRICS summit in Russia, Indian military trucks in Ladakh, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian walking into press room))
((NARRATOR))
High-level diplomatic dialogue has resumed, after the first bilateral meeting in five years between the Indian and Chinese leaders in October defused tensions that had escalated following a 2020 border skirmish.
China has said it is ready to work with India to, quote, enhance mutual trust. But New Delhi will be cautious, analysts say.
((Swaran Singh, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University )) (( Male in English via Zoom))
“Border and border-related issues is something that India wants to address first, and then expand into overall larger normalization of relationship with China.”
((Video: Markets in New Delhi, India’s first Apple store in Mumbai, Indian foreign minister with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on sidelines of G 20 summit, Air India flight, employees, equipment in operation in workshop in China))
((NARRATOR))
Economic cooperation could move faster -- China wants to tap into India’s growing markets while New Delhi needs more Chinese imports as it seeks to become a manufacturing hub.
The Chinese foreign minister has asked New Delhi to restore direct flights that were suspended during the pandemic and facilitate visas for Chinese nationals. While bilateral trade has flourished, India has put restrictions on Chinese investments and visas.
(( For radio: Harsh Pant is vice president for Studies at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.))
((Harsh Pant, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi )) (( Male in English via Zoom))
“Economic ties will perhaps evolve in a much more accelerated manner and, perhaps, India would be much more liberal in opening up its markets or opening up certain sectors.”
((Video: Modi and Xi Jinping meet at BRICS summit in Russia, shot of United States Capitol, Modi addressing U.S. Congress in 2023, Indian soldiers in border area, Chinese research ship off Sri Lanka coast))
((NARRATOR))
Pant says the thaw between India and China will not impact New Delhi’s ties with Washington, which have grown closer, partly over concerns about Beijing’s assertiveness.
Besides its Himalayan border, New Delhi is also concerned about China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean.
((Harsh Pant, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, Male in English via Zoom))
“You also have the sense that both India and the U.S. want a certain kind of Indo-Pacific; a certain kind of geography, strategic geography, which is free, balanced, open and fair, which is also inclusive and, in some ways, those ideas will continue to propel the relationship.”
((Video: Modi and Russian president Putin in Moscow in June summit, Trump in Florida, Modi with Trump in New Delhi on 25th February 2020 from Narendra Modi YouTube channel))
((NARRATOR))
Despite divergences over India’s friendly ties with Russia, analysts say Washington will remain a key partner for New Delhi. The Indian foreign minister recently said ties with the U.S. were “large and important.”
((Anjana Pasricha for VOA News, New Delhi))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 23, 2024 11:39 EST
BylineAnjana Pasricha
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
