After Nearly 5 Years, Direct Flights Between China and India Set to Resume
According to experts, India is implementing a ‘non-alignment’ approach to balance its relations between China and the United States.
After a nearly five-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic and political tensions, India and China have agreed to restart direct flights between the two countries.
The Indian Foreign Ministry announced that it had “in principle” reached an agreement with China to resume direct air services following Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Beijing on Jan. 27.
Both sides agreed to restart direct flights between the Chinese mainland and India, with the aim of facilitating the flow of personnel and exchanges of resident journalists, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
In 2019, there were 539 scheduled direct flights between China and India per month, but they were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic and unresolved territorial disputes, particularly the conflict in the Galwan Valley.
Renewing direct flights with India indicates that China is looking to improve its relations with the international community and avoid isolation, according to Shen Ming-shih, director of the Division of National Security Research at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, seems to have softened his stance towards China recently, as he is focusing more on India’s economic development and seeking to improve relations with the Chinese regime.
While India is playing a balancing role in South Asia geopolitics, it is not fully aligning with the United States to counter China. However, India is maintaining its troop deployment on the border with China.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Modi recently discussed strengthening their countries’ strategic partnership, as well as the Indo-Pacific Quad partnership involving Japan and Australia.
India may also be interested in procuring more security equipment from the U.S., as it aims to maintain its tradition of ‘non-alignment’ and strategic autonomy by balancing relations between the U.S. and China.
China studies professor Feng Chongyi suggested that India is closely monitoring the U.S.’s approach towards China and may adjust its own stance accordingly.
Overall, India is cautious not to offend either China or the United States and hopes to benefit from both countries while navigating the complex geopolitical landscape.
Luo Ya and Reuters contributed to this report.
