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Given the sensitivity of China-India ties after last summer's trespassing across the border by Indian troops, it is no surprise that the Indian defense minister's recent visit to military posts along the border has provoked Chinese concerns.

Yet the popularity of a new Bollywood movie among Chinese filmgoers highlights the warmth of relations between the peoples of the two countries.

On Saturday, Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited forward posts along the China-India border, where Indian media reports say she was briefed on their operational preparedness. Considering that Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a two-month standoff in Donglang from June to August last year, an event that put a freeze on bilateral ties, the move has, not surprisingly, been interpreted as India showing it is taking a hard-line stance on the border issue.

But while Sitharaman's border visit has revived the strategic mistrust and suspicions between the two sides, Indian film star Aamir Khan has opened another window on ties, one that offers a more upbeat perspective of relations between the two peoples.

Khan's latest film Secret Superstar has taken Chinese audiences by storm, and Chinese filmgoers' appreciation of Khan's performance is clear evidence that Chinese people bear no ill-will toward their neighbors.

India should appreciate that after last summer's standoff this is not the time to test China's bottom line on the sensitive border issue, because any misstep and misjudgment could easily trigger another round of tensions.

But there is really no reason why the two sides cannot continue to deepen the bonds of friendship that exist between the two peoples and seek to resolve the issues that threaten to drive a wedge between them. Certainly, the fundamental foundations of the relationship between the two countries remain strong.

To this end, cultural exchanges and economic cooperation, rather than deliberate provocations on sensitive issues, are a much better choice for the two neighbors to build good momentum in their relations.

Matters are coming to a head in the Maldives, with President Abdulla Yameen’s government pitted against the judiciary, polity and sections of the bureaucracy.  Yameen has ruled since 2013 when he won power in an election, the result of which is still contested. He defeated Mohammad Nasheed, who had been deposed in 2012 and who, in 2015, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges of terrorism.  Nasheed is now in exile. In an order on February 1, the Supreme Court cancelled his imprisonment term and that of eight other political leaders, reinstated 12 parliamentarians who had been disqualified last year, and ordered Yameen to allow the Maldivian parliament, or Majlis, to convene. Yameen has thus far failed to comply with any of these orders, despite an official statement on February 2 about his government’s “commitment to uphold and abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court”. The most egregious failure is the government’s refusal to cancel the imprisonment of the nine leaders, amongst whom is Yameen’s former vice president and his former defence minister, members of parliament and leaders of major opposition parties, apart from Mr. Nasheed himself. The President has also refused to allow the Majlis to meet, which has led to the resignation of its Secretary General. In fact, the government sent in the army to stop lawmakers from entering the premises, besides arresting two parliamentarians at the airport. Meanwhile, several officials, including two police chiefs and the prison chief have resigned or been sacked, reportedly for seeking to implement the Supreme Court’s orders. The Attorney General has now announced that only the Constitution matters, not “illegal orders” from the court. In short, the Maldives is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. Calling fresh elections, which are in any case due later this year, may be the best way out.

Amidst the turmoil, India has joined the U.S., the European Union and several other countries in calling for Yameen to carry out the Supreme Court’s order. New Delhi said in a statement that it is monitoring the situation in Male “closely”. But currently, Delhi’s leverage in the Maldives is less than it has ever been. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to cancel his visit to Male three years ago, has singled Maldives out as the only country in the South Asian and Indian Ocean Region that he hasn’t visited. Given that the Maldives has pulled out of the Commonwealth, and there is little semblance of a SAARC process at present, India’s influence in Male is further limited. It will require concerted action from the international community to persuade Yameen to steer the Maldives out of this crisis, without taking recourse to coercive means.

AMMAN/AFP: At least 83 children were killed in Middle East war zones in January, most of them in Syria, the UN children's agency UNICEF said, vowing their voices "will never be silenced". "They were killed in ongoing conflicts, suicide attacks or frozen to death as they fled active war zones," said UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaere. "In the month of January alone, escalating violence in Iraq, Libya, the State of Palestine, Syria and Yemen has claimed the lives of at least 83 children," Cappelaere added in a statement. Calling January a "dark (and) bloody month", Cappelaere said it was "unacceptable that children continue being killed and injured every single day".