This is a fine example of diplomacy which many of us failed to understand in an attempt to show our intelligence.
India, Japan draw closer, with an eye on China
During a three-day visit to Japan this week, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed several major infrastructure and defense-technology deals, and agreed to speed up dialogue on nuclear cooperation and conduct more joint naval exercises. His host, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, called Singh a “mentorlike leader.”
But the bonhomie appeared calculated, at least in part, to send a not-so-subtle diplomatic message to Beijing in the wake of a border row between India and China last month, as well as the dispute between Japan and China over resource-rich islands in the East China Sea.
It is quite clear that all this is happening with China as the backdrop, because both Japan and India look upon China as a threat,” said Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian diplomat and strategic affairs analyst. “The Japanese prime minister wants to redefine the Indian Ocean and the Pacific region as a community of maritime democracies. That automatically excludes China. This is an important and clever move by India, too. I think Beijing has reasons to be worried.”
The message has not been lost on China.
On Tuesday, the Communist Party-controlled People’s Daily newspaper described China and India as natural partners, and hailed India’s “great wisdom” in handling its ties with China “in a calm way, undisturbed by internal and international provocateurs.” The article also criticized recent visits by Abe to China’s neighbors to discuss ways to contain the superpower, saying, “Some politicians just made themselves petty burglars on China-related issues.”