PM Modi with other dignitaries in a group photograph during G7 Summit, in Hiroshima, Japan

Amid China’s decision to skip the G20 tourism meeting in Jammu and Kashmir, India exposes China’s approach as hypocritical when it talks about sovereignty and territorial integrity.

NEW DELHI: In what is being viewed as a savage response to China amid the CCP-inspired expansionist activities in the Indo-Pacific and in other regions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi just hours before the Quad meeting and the G7 Summit on Saturday said that India stood for respecting sovereignty and adherence to international law. “India is committed to protecting its sovereignty and integrity while promoting peaceful resolution of maritime disputes based on international law,” PM Modi said in an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun in Hiroshima. He was referring to China’s assertive military activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea.

PM Modi’s remarks assume significance as they came hours after China announced that it would skip the G20 tourism working group meeting in Jammu and Kashmir this week. “China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory. We will not attend such meetings,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing. India is hosting the third G20 tourism working group meeting in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22-24 May. Diplomatic sources privy to the details of PM Modi’s bilateral and other high level engagements in Japan told The Sunday Guardian that PM Modi during his newspaper interview not only sent out a strong message to China on territorial integrity and sovereignty, but also sought to set the narrative for member countries of the G7 and the Quad to focus on Chinese aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific and other geographies. “As India holds the G20 presidency, PM Modi is on a massive diplomatic mission to achieve much stronger collaboration between the G20 and G7 to deal with aggressive China. The mission has gained momentum with PM Modi setting the narrative and agenda for the international community to collectively call out China’s belligerence,” sources told this newspaper.

PM Modi’s remarks are self-explanatory in this context. During the same interview, he underlined the G7 and G20 Summits as “crucial platforms for global cooperation”. Nothing could explain the PM’s mission seeking collaboration between the two groupings better than his own statement, “As the G20 chair, I will represent the perspectives and priorities of the Global South at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Strengthening collaboration between the G7 and G20 is vital in addressing global challenges like climate change, supply chain disruptions, economic recovery, energy instability, healthcare, food security, and peace and security.”

Diplomatic officials told The Sunday Guardian, PM Modi’s reference to G7 and G20 collaboration for “peace and security” should be seen in the context of his plan to unite the global community to deal with an aggressive China which is increasingly becoming a more challenging threat to global peace. “The mission also includes diplomatic outreach to the global community in a bid to expose China’s hypocrisy when it refers to J&K as a disputed territory,” sources said, adding, “Beijing continues to go ahead with the so-called CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) project in the PoK, which has been recognised as disputed territory by China itself in its 1963 agreement with Pakistan,” said an official. India has always registered its protest over CPEC, which is a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. “It is China which is not respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries,” said diplomats.

Sources said India will also impress upon the international community that China’s move to skip the G20 meeting in Jammu and Kashmir is part of Beijing’s and Islamabad’s agenda not to allow normalcy to exist in Jammu and Kashmir. “China’s move to skip the meeting in Srinagar clearly shows that it is the Pakistan based forces (terror elements) who are trying to disturb peace in J&K. Beijing has already stood exposed when it supported Pakistani terrorists during the process of blacklisting them at the UNSC,” officials said, adding, “China should be condemned by G7 members for promoting Pakistan’s agenda of sponsoring and supporting terrorism.”

Sources said PM Modi touched upon all these points during his bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima. He discussed with the Japanese leader the Indo-Pacific challenges because of China.

Diplomats see it as a well-planned diplomatic move to drum up support of the powerful nations of the G7 group that PM Modi sought to corner China over its aggression in the Indo-Pacific, South China Sea, East China Sea, etc. “PM Modi did not want to be seen as a leader who is concerned only about China’s aggression along the LAC or in the Indian Ocean. Rather, as a global leader, he spoke about the issues in the larger perspective of the problem,” said officials. The upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi and other platforms will witness PM Modi’s efforts to ensure coordination among the different groupings to deal with the security challenges from China threatening global peace.