Modi commences US tour with 'respect sovereignty' message for China, Russia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent out a message to both China and Russia by stressing respect for the sovereignty of all nations as he embarked on a four-day tour to the United States – a visit which, according to him, will reinforce the India-America ties based on shared values of democracy.

The Prime Minister said that India was fully prepared to protect its sovereignty in the face of unilateral moves by China to alter the status quo along the disputed boundary between the two nations. He not only reiterated India’s promise to do whatever it could to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict but also stressed that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and not war.

“I am confident that my visit to the US will reinforce our ties based on shared values of democracy, diversity and freedom. Together we stand stronger in meeting the shared global challenges,” Modi said in a statement issued before leaving New Delhi for New York early on Tuesday.

Beijing and Moscow are expected to keenly watch his parleys with US President Joe Biden in Washington DC on Wednesday and Thursday as the two leaders are meeting amid Russia’s “special military operations” in Ukraine and China’s continued aggression against India in the Himalayas.

The Prime Minister in an interview with a newspaper published in the US stressed respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the nations.

“For normal bilateral ties with China, peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential,” Modi told Wall Street Journal in an interview ahead of his visit to the US. “We have a core belief in respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity, observing the rule of law and peaceful resolution of differences and disputes. At the same time, India is fully prepared and committed to protect its sovereignty and dignity.”

His comment came just days after the third anniversary of the June 15, 2020, violent face-off between the Indian and the Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley. India had lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) only confirmed four casualties on its side, despite reports about a much higher death toll. The military stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto boundary between the two nations – in eastern Ladakh could not be completely resolved so far, although protracted negotiation led to the mutual withdrawal of troops from some of the face-off points.

“Some people say that we are neutral. But we are not neutral. We are on the side of peace,” Modi was quoted saying in a report in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. “All countries should respect international law and the sovereignty of countries,” he said, adding that the disputes should be resolved with diplomacy and dialogue, not war.

New Delhi refrained from joining the US and the other western nations in condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, particularly in view of India’s decades-old strategic relations with the former Soviet Union nation and dependence on it for military hardware and advanced technologies.

Modi’s meeting with Biden is likely to see the US starting to deliver on its promise to remove barriers in high technology cooperation with India, including in the defence sector.

“The initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies has added new dimensions and widened collaboration to defence industrial cooperation, space, telecom, quantum, Artificial Intelligence and biotech sectors (between India and the US),” the Prime Minister said in his statement before his departure for New York, where he landed late on Tuesday.