"Jaishankar is a straight talker. It's easy to deal with him because he means what he says," said Ma Jiali, a South Asia expert connected to the Communist Party and government think-tanks. "He played a constructive role in addressing difficult issues," Ma said.
READ ALSO: Why PM Modi was unhappy with former foreign secretary Sujatha Singh
Significantly, Beijing and Washington DC aren't the only feathers in Jaishankar's cap. He has also been posted to Tokyo, which makes him well versed with Asia at a time Sino-Japanese tensions have risen over territorial claims and counter-claims, and with Japan moving towards militarization.
The new foreign secretary's experience in both Tokyo and Beijing makes him a man to watch in China. One of Beijing's fears is that India, Japan and the US will "join hands" to form a diplomatic brigade against China. Also, in recent days, the Chinese foreign ministry has expressed worries over decisions taken during US President Barack Obama's visit to New Delhi. They are also peeved with Japan for one of its ministers saying that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India.
Jaishankar was ambassador in Beijing during the sensitive period of the 2013 Depsang crisis. The three-week stand-off at Daulat Beg Oldi in the Depsang plains over incursions by Chinese troops had raised questions regarding the disputed boundary between the countries, and required renewed efforts on both sides to engage.
As Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi had visited China thrice, and attracted Chinese investments during Jaishankar's term as ambassador. This included the $400 million deal with Chinese energy firm TBEA for a plant in Gujarat.
The current talk in China is about India's swing towards US. Jaishankar is expected to tackle this issue by perhaps informing China that India is more independent of the US than what it thinks. Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj is due in Beijing for a three-day visit on January 31. Among other things, she will discuss arrangements for the PM's likely visit in April. The timing of Jaishankar's appointment is, therefore, significant.
Delhi hasn't been able to wean Beijing away from its obsessive engagement with Pakistan. The question also is whether Beijing can be tackled by Delhi's rising friendship with China's rivals Japan and Vietnam.
http://ift.tt/1nfAHp5 Shankar Menon,S Jaishankar,Nirupama Rao
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