THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 25 August 2020 A deepening alliance(Indian Express)

A deepening alliance(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:International Relations 
Prelims level: Sino-Pak strategic dialogue 
Mains level: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Context:

• There were no dramatic announcements from the meeting between the Pakistan Foreign Minister and his Chinese counterpart, late last week in the Chinese island province of Hainan.
• It was about the further consolidation of the all-weather partnership between Islamabad and Beijing across a broadening range of issues —from economic and commercial to the political and security.

Hypocrisy:

• What makes this round of Sino-Pak strategic dialogue significant is the rapid deterioration of India-China ties amidst the unresolved military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
• India has had to cope with the consequences of the China-Pak partnership that can be traced back to the mid-1950s.
• Yet, Delhi has continuously underestimated the deepest sources animating it.
• To make matters worse, Delhi has always over-determined the prospects for its own partnership with China and its ability to transcend the Sino-Pak alliance.
• For Delhi, the immediate concern is about intensive Sino-Pak political coordination on Kashmir.
• China has lent strong support to Islamabad’s efforts to mobilise international condemnation of Delhi’s constitutional changes in Kashmir since late last year.
• The joint statement issued after the talks between Wang and Qureshi saw China reaffirm its criticism of India’s “unilateral actions” in Kashmir.
• As part of the commitment on both sides to support the “core interests” of the other, Pakistan expressed support for China’s repression of the majority Muslim community in Beijing’s far western province of Xinjiang.
• The point here is not about Pakistan’s double standards in raising human rights concerns about Kashmir and supporting China in Xinjiang.
• Hypocrisy is very much part of international relations.
• The real story is about the deep foundations of the Sino-Pak alliance that transcend religion and are tied to shared interests of the two nations in containing India.

Being prepared:

• India, however, has been reluctant to confront this central reality — which continues to express itself in multiple ways.
• These range from the construction of the Karakoram Highway through Kashmir in the 1970s to the expansive China-Pakistan Economic Corridor of the present and from Beijing’s nuclear and missile assistance to Pakistan in the 1980s to the integration of Pakistani naval forces and bases into China’s ambitious Indian Ocean strategy.
• Delhi must prepare for a full range of other contingencies — from Sino-Pak joint support to insurgent groups in India’s Northeast to probing India’s other internal, regional and international vulnerabilities.
• Recognising the challenge of the Sino-Pak alliance is necessarily the first step in any Indian strategy to cope with it in the days ahead.

Conclusion:

• Delhi needs to confront reality of shared interests of Beijing and Islamabad, and address its consequences.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the PM CARES Fund, consider the following statements:

1. The Supreme Court endorsed the PM CARES Fund as a “public charitable trust” to which donors contribute voluntarily.
2. There is “no occasion” for the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to audit a public charitable trust independent of budgetary support or government money.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1)Give and outline of Sino-Pak strategic dialogue. What is their political coordination on Kashmir? And how they pose threat to India’s interests?