Need to revisit mindset of India, China, says expert

Kottayam: “India and China have to change their traditional mindset to develop  fruitful and cooperative bilateral  relations,”  according to Dr. Swaran Singh,   international relations expert and professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.    

“Though there is military asymmetry between India and China on the borders, both countries are now willing to engage with each other in an atmosphere of tranquility.  In that sense, Doklam is a sign of future,” he said. He was   delivering the valedictory address at the two-day international conference on ‘Engaging rising China: Strategic options for emerging India’  organised by the Institute for Contemporary Chinese Studies (ICCS), Mahatma Gandhi University,  in collaboration with the School of International Relations and Politics (SIRP) of the university and the Institute of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Kerala, on Saturday.  

Prof Singh said that societies in the contemporary world were  reassessing their roles  in national and international affairs and consequently the people were  willing to engage with each other in diverse and dynamic ways.

The texture of international relations will change when leaders meet  as often as possible  while the same facility should be  strengthened for people to people contacts, he said.

“During the last few years, the foreign policy of India has been engaging with new goal posts and it inevitably demands fresh interpretation of non-alignment. Today, India is absorbed in the policy of multi-alignment with sectoral cooperation across world powers on a range of issues,” he said.

Dr. A.M. Thomas, director, SIRP, and Dr. C. Vinodan, director, ICCS,  also spoke.  Dr K.M. Seethi, dean of Social Sciences, chaired the valedictory session.