India, China end hostilities, resume flights after 5 years

Story by Dajen Comfort Yakubu 

India and China have on Monday agreed to resume direct flights between the two nations, nearly five years after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions caused a suspension.

The announcement was made at the conclusion of a visit to Beijing by New Delhi’s top career diplomat and marks the latest sign of a thaw in the frosty relations between the world’s two most populous nations.

Indian Foreign Ministry Secretary Vikram Misri’s trip to the Chinese capital was one of the most senior official visits since a deadly Himalayan troop clash on their shared border in 2020 that severely strained relations.

A statement from India’s Foreign Ministry said the visit by a senior envoy to Beijing had led to an agreement “in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries”.

“The relevant technical authorities on both sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date,” the statement said.

India’s statement also confirmed that China had agreed to allow the resumption of a pilgrimage to a popular Hindu shrine to the deity Krishna, which had also been halted at the start of the decade.

Both sides pledged to work harder on diplomacy to “restore mutual trust and confidence” and resolve outstanding trade and economic issues, the statement added.

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Before the pandemic, around 500 monthly direct flights operated between China and India, according to the Indian media outlet Moneycontrol.

A statement from China’s Foreign Ministry did not mention the agreement on resuming flights but said both countries had been working to improve ties since last year.

“The improvement and development of China-India relations is fully in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries,” the Chinese statement read.

India and China are intense rivals, competing for strategic influence across South Asia.

Flights between the two countries were halted in early 2020 with the onset of the pandemic. Services to Hong Kong eventually resumed as the public health crisis receded, but flights to mainland China were not reinstated due to the bitter fallout from the deadly troop clash later that year.

At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in the skirmish in a remote area along their 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) border.

The fallout from the incident saw India clamp down on Chinese companies, preventing them from investing in critical economic sectors, as well as banning hundreds of Chinese gaming and e-commerce apps, including TikTok.

Beijing and New Delhi reached an agreement last October on significant military disengagement at a key flashpoint on their disputed border.

The accord came shortly before a rare formal meeting — the first in five years — between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Misri’s visit to Beijing followed a diplomatic tour by India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, who is a key ally of Modi.

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