Raksha Mantri in China

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has arrived in Qingdao in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting. This is a first high profile visit by an Indian Minister after the border stand-off in Ladakh sector in 2020.Raksha Mantri in his post on the social media site X before his departure said that he was looking forward to present  India’s vision for  global peace and  security  besides the  joint  consistent efforts to eliminate terrorism. During this visit the Raksha Mantri is expected to  hold discussions with his Chinese and Russian counterparts having emphasis on  regional and global security  issues. It will include the on-going conflict in West Asia. As per the statement of the Defence Ministry  the Raksha Mantri is expected to highlight India’s continued commitment to the principles and mandate of the SCO, outline India’s vision towards achieving greater international peace and security, call for joint and consistent efforts to eliminate terrorism and extremism in the region, and stress on the need for greater trade, economic cooperation and connectivity within SCO. It is pertinent to mention that  SCO was established in 2001  by China, Russia and  Central Asian nations for security and economic cooperation. India was incorporated as a full member in 2017. Later Iran  joined too.as far as India is concerned  it has  used SCO to raise the  issue of cross-border terrorism and for tightening the noose around the  terrorist groups based in Pakistan that are involved in destabilising India. This forum has also enabled India to  contribute towards the inclusive regional order and balance the power equation. But India has been apprehensive of the Chinese initiative of  Belt and Road. India has been promoting alternative  projects to counter Chinese thrust. These initiatives include the  Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor. Defence Minister’s visit comes at a time when the India-China relations are still not in a stage that can be called stable as the  military and diplomatic level  engagements between the nations have not been able to  completely resolve the tensions along  the Line of Actual Control (LAC).The ongoing Israel –Iran conflict will also have an impact  on the SCO as China, Russia and North Korea  have converged as a sort of front against the Israel-US stance against Iran. The American involvement by bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities has compounded the intensity of the conflict and its impact on the global peace and economy. During the India-Pakistan conflict  after the Pahalgam carnage engineered and executed by the Pakistan trained terrorists, China openly supported Pakistan knowing well that it was involved in the Pahalgam carnage. Not only that, President Trump credited himself for the India-Pakistan ceasefire though he had no role to play in that. And this was amply cleared by the Indian Government. In such a scenario both China and the US have played a paradoxical role when it comes to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India. There is only one option left for India and that is the independent foreign policy that upholds the national interest. One thing has to be kept in mind when it comes to engaging with China: the dragon is guided by the policy that the Indian government may shift from  the stance of cold confrontation to  the policy of cold cooperation. Not only that India wants to keep away from the supply chains of the  rare earth minerals that are now the deciding factor in the new age technology be it for peace or warfare.The Rising Kashmir has already delved at length on this challenge in its previous editorials. Let us see what will be the outcome of Raksha Mantri’s China visit.The fingers are crossed.