Coronavirus an opportunity for India: Ex-foreign secy

PUNE: “If we depend on China financially, we cannot challenge them. There was a need to create a competitive environment in India, ‘Make in India’ like initiative, ongoing China-America trade war and recent Coronavirus outbreak in China are the opportunities to develop India,” said former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale.

He was addressing a one-day seminar on India-China Relations in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges and Opportunities organised by the Centre for Advanced Strategic Studies (CASS) Pune, Centre for China Analysis and Strategy (CCAS), New Delhi, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi and Maharashtra Education Society (MES), Pune on Tuesday at the Institute of Management and Career Courses (IMCC) in the city.

Gokhale further said, “The Coronavirus outbreak had a bad impact on China’s economy, so it is a good opportunity for India to grow economically but first we need to change our policies. At the same time, we should also not neglect the political capacity of the Chinese government in handling such a crisis.”

Speaking on India-China trade relations, Gokhale said, “While dealing with China, the Indian government should think about long and secure plan and policies. Likewise, the government should also focus on building strong ties with the US and Russia. We should not forget that Russia is an important, trusted partner of India.”

On strengthening defence security of India, he said, “We lack in manufacturing military hardware, therefore, we need to have military modernisation.”

INDIA-CHINA ECONOMIC TIES
Noted economist and political analyst Ajit Ranade at the seminar said, “Though India and China constitute 40 per cent of the world population and can work together at the same time, they need to add more trust and confidence between both the countries.” 

Ranade said, “Indian imports from China have declined while India’s export has increased. It is also the first time that China has invited India’s Prime Minister for the Shangri-La dialogue, which shows a friendly attitude among two nations. But apart from this, both the nations have to emphasise on the five principles of Panchasheel.”

Another noted speaker at the seminar, Research Associate with CCAS, Namrata Hasija said, “The Belt and Road initiative is an important project for China. It will help China expand strategically as well as economically.” 

“But it seems that the prediction has failed with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to generate over 13,000 jobs. The project managed to create only 4,000 till date from 2015,” Hasija said.

She further said, “China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s success depends on Pakistan’s ability to export goods but the fishing community is suffering due to this project.”

DOKLAM CRISIS
Addressing the seminar on Doklam crisis, Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi said, “Doklam like crisis occurred due to the lack of capacity in border management. Similarly, diverse forces report to the ministry and it took time while taking a decision.”

To avoid any such conflict within forces, there is a need to have a coherent strategy, Bakshi said.

Maritime strategist Arnab Das said, “As the Indian Ocean region is important, we need to focus more on submarine operations.”