China question facing India after Pahalagam

China's response to the rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the terror attack in Pahalgam is evolving in keeping with its interests.

- Harsh V Pant

Since the Pahalgam terror strike, India has launched a diplomatic blitzkrieg, briefing global leaders. New Delhi began rallying world opinion, stating that it was in possession of intelligence that linked the Pahalgam perpetrators to Islamabad.

To dispel notions of a Beijing-Islamabad nexus, China's ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, initially tweeted his condolences and urged to "oppose all forms of terrorism" without naming any party a day after the attack. But sensing that Pakistan may get isolated, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi spoke to his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, on April 27, terming Pakistan as an "all-weather" strategic cooperative partner. Islamabad has welcomed a transparent investigation into the matter, a line Beijing supports. When the matter came to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Pakistan got a leg up from China in diluting the incident.

The UNSC statement read that those responsible for the killings should be held accountable, and resolved to push for international cooperation with all relevant authorities. This is a significant deviation from the UNSC's position after the 2019 Pulwama attack that sought collaboration between the Indian government and relevant Pakistani authorities.