At the moment New Delhi still confirmed the visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Wednesday India “refused” what was said to be “inappropriate for” the comments he made while referring to Jammu and Kashmir at the Islamic Cooperation Organization (OIC) meeting in Islamabad.
It reminded leadership in Beijing that “India refrained from public assessment of their internal problems”. This has been delivered in a demarche sent through diplomatic channels, India Express has learned.
This could have had an impact on the fate of Wang’s visit expected this week. He plans to be in Nepal from 25 to 27 March.
In Islamabad for the OKI meeting, Wang said: “At Kashmir, we have heard again today calls from many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same expectations.”
This draws sharp reactions from the external ministry. Arindam Bagchi, MEA spokesman, said: “We rejected the inappropriate reference to India by the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his speech at the opening ceremony (OIC Meeting).”
It is very unusual to name the foreign minister while criticizing the statement, and this reflects the hardening of the position in New Delhi.
While references to J & K are “internal affairs” of India and that China has “no stupi locus” is a standard template in the Indian government’s response, reminders that India refrains from “public assessment of their internal problems” not often used.
India usually does not criticize China for its internal problems including those related to Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, human rights violations and atrocities against Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province. So, this is a hard message to Beijing from New Delhi.
MEA’s sharp reaction to Wang’s comments came at the time of Beijing, after two years of military deadlock along the actual control line in Ladakh, has reached New Delhi to revive bilateral dialogue and set the stage for BRICS (Brazil Russian-India-Chinese-South Africa) summit in China later this year.