By Aditya Kaul
Agency: DNA
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) summit, an important multilateral engagement between India and South East Asian nations, that was scheduled to happen in the second week of December in New Delhi, has been “postponed.”
The MGC which was founded in November 2000, comprises Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and India and focuses on cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkages.
Officials from the external affairs ministry assured the reason for its postponement was only because of “scheduling” reasons.
“The dates of the summit clashed with the schedule of foreign ministers of some of the participating countries,” an official revealed.
China has been eyeing a place in the group as the only Mekong nation that is not part of MGC. Last month, the special representatives’ border talks with China were cancelled after Beijing demandedcancellation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s speech at a Buddhist congregation that coincided with the visit of the Chinese special representative in Delhi for the border talks.
A few days later the Chinese consulate in Kolkata asked West Bengal governor MK Narayanan and chief minister Mamta Banerjee not to attended a lecture on Mother Teresa by the Dalai Lama. But Narayanan rebuffed China’s advice.
China has become increasingly wary of India’s moves in the South East Asian region and South China Sea in particular, which they view as India’s strategic build-up. It protested India’s oil exploration pact with Vietnam in the South China Sea, which it claims is a part of its sovereign territory.
Last week, Indian diplomatic and strategic establishment noted with some concern reports of China announcing joint patrolling of the Mekong river with other Mekong countries. The joint patrols, China claims, are triggered by an incident on October 5 after two cargo ships were attacked resulting in the murder of 13 Chinese sailors. The headquarters of the joint patrolling initiative will be based in China.
Agency: DNA
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) summit, an important multilateral engagement between India and South East Asian nations, that was scheduled to happen in the second week of December in New Delhi, has been “postponed.”
The MGC which was founded in November 2000, comprises Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and India and focuses on cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkages.
Officials from the external affairs ministry assured the reason for its postponement was only because of “scheduling” reasons.
“The dates of the summit clashed with the schedule of foreign ministers of some of the participating countries,” an official revealed.
China has been eyeing a place in the group as the only Mekong nation that is not part of MGC. Last month, the special representatives’ border talks with China were cancelled after Beijing demandedcancellation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s speech at a Buddhist congregation that coincided with the visit of the Chinese special representative in Delhi for the border talks.
A few days later the Chinese consulate in Kolkata asked West Bengal governor MK Narayanan and chief minister Mamta Banerjee not to attended a lecture on Mother Teresa by the Dalai Lama. But Narayanan rebuffed China’s advice.
China has become increasingly wary of India’s moves in the South East Asian region and South China Sea in particular, which they view as India’s strategic build-up. It protested India’s oil exploration pact with Vietnam in the South China Sea, which it claims is a part of its sovereign territory.
Last week, Indian diplomatic and strategic establishment noted with some concern reports of China announcing joint patrolling of the Mekong river with other Mekong countries. The joint patrols, China claims, are triggered by an incident on October 5 after two cargo ships were attacked resulting in the murder of 13 Chinese sailors. The headquarters of the joint patrolling initiative will be based in China.
No comments:
Post a Comment