NSA Doval Meets Chinese Envoy: Will China Stop Acting As Pakistan’s Proxy?

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met China’s new ambassador to India, Lao Zahohui, on Monday in South Block. The meeting comes at a time when Beijing has extended its ‘technical hold’ on India’s bid to get Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar listed as a terrorist by the United Nations. Moreover, the Chinese envoy in Lahore has been quoted as openly backing Pakistan in case of “any foreign aggression” and supporting Islamabad’s stance on the Kashmir dispute.

Without a doubt, the NSA would have raised the issue of China’s non-cooperation on Masood Azhar and China’s incursions in the Arunachal Pradesh during the meeting.

These factors, coupled with China’s non-cooperation with India on its membership bid to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and India’s worsening relations with Beijing’s ‘all weather ally’ Pakistan have affected the relationship between the two countries.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet during the BRICS Summit in Goa on 15-16 October, the meeting between the two officials could be seen as one setting the tone for bilateral engagement between the two countries.

A question remains as to how this meeting will improve the relationship between the two countries when China is adamantly taking sides in the India-Pakistan conflict.

With inputs from IANS.