Putting Sino-Indian ties back on track

Engagement: Image from a June 2020 video of China’s People’s Liberation Army regimental commander Qi Fabao (second from left) talking with members of the Indian military in the Galwan Valley on the disputed border between China and India. Recent Sino-Indian military disengagements on the border have raised hopes of India returning to equilibrium in its foreign policy with China after a deadly clash between troops in February this year. — CCTV/AP

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin’s visit to India on March 19, his first foreign visit after assuming office, was preceded by the first “Quad” summit. And Austin’s visit will be followed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to herald Britain’s post-Brexit foreign policy centred around the Indo-Pacific. Together these events reflect India’s intensifying engagement with the United States-led Indo-Pacific strategy.

(The Quad summit refers to the grouping of India, Australia, the United States and Japan that is known as the quadrilateral security dialogue, or quad.)