What transpires on the sidelines of the G-20 meet in Hamburg later this week could constitute a make or break test of Narendra Modi’s diplomatic skills.

In contrast to most of his other forays abroad, which have been focused on goodwill generation or promotion of economic interaction, he will now have conflictresolution on the table. A possible meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping could determine the outcome of the Sino-Indian military stand-off on the Doklam plateau at the trijunction with Bhutan.

Advertisement

Although no formal bilateral has been scheduled, the absence of any initiative by South Block to ease the impasse points to the foreign office pinning many a hope on Hamburg. While “summits” always lend themselves to expectations, it is a poor reflection on the ministry external affairs that apart from a couple of wishy-washy statements it seems to have little to offer on what is widely perceived as the most serious situation in 50 years.

For there has been enough “physicality”, and fiery statements from Beijing to puncture the MEA’s bid to underplay the incident and hope it will blow over: as have other “discrepancies” in the perception of the Line of Actual Control. The Chinese insist that Indian troops have transgressed the frontier, and openly demanding their pull back.

The bid by South Block to keep things low-key were possibly de-railed by the much-publicised visit of the Indian Army chief to the conflict-zone. The Chinese slammed Gen. Bipin Rawat’s earlier talk of being ready to fight on “two-and-half-fronts” and made a rare reference to 1962, and that set off another verbal skirmish involving defence minister Arun Jaitley.

The rhetoric continues to run riot, and the statements out of Beijing are shriller than can be recalled in recent years. Indian “reports” of enhanced Chinese naval activity in the regional waters add to the tensions.

The situation may not be alarming as of now, but it is proceeding in a worrisome direction. The fires may have been felt at the trijunction but the heat has been steadily rising.

The Chinese thwarting Indian efforts to crack down on Pakistanbased terrorists and its blocking India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group are one manifestation of discord.

Another is the sustained Indian objection to the economic corridor that runs through POK, as well as India shunning the Chinese OBOR move. Add to that Donald Trump’s unsophisticated bid to draw India into an anti-Chinese link-up. The team in the Ministry of External Affairs, if it is part of this diplomatic plot, ought to have done groundwork ahead of Hamburg ~ always advisable before a planned summit.

There is limited scope for “atmospherics”, the Indian and PLA soldiers are drawn up a little too close for comfort. One false move and…