It is evident that UN Security Council’sresolution attempts to manage an agreement between the two parties ondemilitarization of Kashmir and a plebiscite failed. There are several reasonsfor India’s preference of bilateral negotiations and the rejection of China’soffer to act as a mediator in the Kashmir dispute. First of all, India does notwant the internationalization of the Kashmir issue due to its mistrust toforeign powers which roots back to US’s diplomacy policy with Pakistan whileengaging as a mediator in the conflict in the 1980’s.
India has continuouslyreferred back to the Simla Agreement that was signed by Prime Minister IndiaGandhi and President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1972 emphasizing the importance ofbilateral negotiations. However,if past history is any guide, it is clear that attempts to resolve the disputewithout interference has not led to any results either. Interference of China inthe Kashmir conflict is not without complications either. The bilateralfriendship between China and Pakistan has been growing over the years andparticularly the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has given reasons tostrengthen the relation additionally. However, such is not the case for China-Indiarelation that stands at a crossroad. They are both rising powers that mean increasingcompetition. In addition, India decided to boycott the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) summit that was held in Beijing in 2017 as a response to CPEC which Indiaclaims legitimizes Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir issue.
India hastherefore However,China has strong interest in guarding its own investments which mean securingthe region and settling the Kashmir dispute between the two nuclear countries. CPECis one of the main motives behind China’s interest in playing the mediator rolein the Kashmir dispute.
