Amid growing tensions with China following its move to veto at the United Nations the blacklisting of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told CNN-News18 that New Delhi and Beijing have accepted they have certain “differences” but his government’s objective is that the differences don’t turn into disputes.
India lost at least 40 CRPF personnel in February after a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operative attacked their convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Since then, China has blocked several bids to designate Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN.
“On one hand, there is our bilateral relationship with China. We have a political engagement with China, we have investments there, and they have investments here. Our leaders go there, their leaders come here. Amid all this, there are border disputes which are still unresolved. India has one perspective, China has another. So, both sides have accepted that we have differences, but our objective is that these differences don’t turn into disputes,” he said in an interview to CNN-News18. “And if there are such incidents, then we hold high-level talks. This is a continuous process.”
Modi claimed that the proof of India’s “success” was in the support being extended by other countries. “There was a time when India had only Russia’s support on the international stage: and the rest of the world was with Pakistan. Today, the entire situation has changed. Now, only China stands with Pakistan, and the rest of the world with India. We must understand this change. This is proof of our success,” he said.
He added that the issue about China’s veto was discussed with the country in one of the meetings.
During the interview, he also spoke on the difference between the manifestos of BJP and Congress, the issue surrounding the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati’s appeal to Muslims voters, Congress’ NYAY scheme among other things ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
On the sentiment to boycott Chinese goods and stop trade with the country, Modi said since there were international laws in place, India’s official stand must align with international rules and regulations. “As far as public sentiment on Chinese goods is concerned, that is up to them. We, including the media, should guide the public,” he said.
