India should act on border consensus to end tensions

Not allowing differences to become disputes. This, as one of the five-point consensus reached by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during their "frank and constructive" meeting in Moscow on Thursday, will have come as a big sigh of relief to people on both sides－at least for now.

The consensus, above all, testifies to the fact that despite heightened tensions along the Line of Actual Control for months, the two neighbors still believe in resolving their differences through talks, keeping the bigger picture of bilateral relations in mind.

That the two sides agreed "the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side" shows Beijing and New Delhi are committed to defusing the volatile situation along the border peacefully.

As the world's two largest developing countries, and given their long history of interactions and exchanges, the two sides know well that good neighborly relations, as the fast growing bilateral trade before the escalation of tensions showed, are mutually beneficial.

Through the 70 years of their diplomatic relations, and despite the 1962 border war, generations of leaders on both sides have made painstaking efforts to maintain stability and tranquility in the border areas, because they realized the consequences of the border issue being allowed to hijack bilateral ties.

It has been the collective wisdom of the two sides to maintain the status quo on the disputed border, as both are equally aware that a peaceful neighborhood is essential to their economic development.

Facing a belligerent United States with its even more belligerent China-containment policy, Beijing has no reason to spark a conflict with New Delhi, because that would serve the interests of the US, not to mention those jingoistic forces in India. Yet it is incumbent upon India to not use the situation to fish in troubled waters.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on a number of occasions, has presumptuously declared that the US would support India in resisting its "bullying" neighbor.

But India would do better to not buy into such coercive salesmanship, for China will never compromise on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The series of moves India has taken against Chinese companies, apps and imports show how ready it is to be lured into risky US deals, and use the border disputes, which are best settled through talks, to target Chinese companies and hurt overall bilateral ties.

The two sides' agreement to continue dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance, and ease tensions along the border gives India an opportunity to turn its border promises into action.

For the one who ties the knot also has the responsibility to untie it.