Hangzhou : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vietnam ahead of G20 summit here was aimed at jointly piling pressure on China and to raise their “bargaining chips” with the country, Chinese state media said.
“Given the South China Sea issue, Beijing-Hanoi relations have not been smooth over the past years. Negative emotions toward Beijing among the Vietnamese people have also been rising,” an article in the state-run Global Times website said.
“Under such a backdrop, Modi’s visit to Vietnam has without doubt made Indians associate the tour with many strategic meanings, believing that New Delhi and Hanoi might jointly pile pressure on Beijing,” it said.
“The fundamental reason behind it is the interests of India and Vietnam. New Delhi and Hanoi both wish to raise their bargaining position while having interactions with China, but neither of them wants direct confrontation with Beijing,” it said.
While such a possibility cannot be totally excluded, but it will not play a vital role either, it said.
“India has always been cautious when it comes to directly putting the screw on China. In this regard, the US has never stopped drawing New Delhi over to its side for its rebalance to the Asia-Pacific strategy, but India only showed reluctance toward it and has not responded to Washington actively.
“This has made the White House quite grouchy,” it said. Pointing to various commonalities between India and China which are emerging powers and members of BRICS, the editorial said, “India hopes it can improve its underdeveloped infrastructure with the help of Chinese investments and technology.”
