China’s double-faced
diplomacy
Condemning the
Pulwama attack, in which 45 men from the Central Reserve Police Force were
killed in a ghastly attack claimed by the JeM, while vetoing the declaration of
JeM chief Masood Azhar as a UN-designated global terrorist is meaningless,
writes Anil Bhat for South Asia Monitor.
By Anil Bhat FEB 16, 2019
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China’s two
statements, merely paying lip service and condemning the dastardly terrorist
attack by the Jaish e Mohammad (JeM) at Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir and also
opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, only prove
that neither Doklam nor Wuhan seem to have made any difference to its attitude
towards India.
Condemning the Pulwama
attack, in which 45 men from the Central Reserve Police Force were killed in a
ghastly attack claimed by the JeM while vetoing the declaration of JeM chief
Masood Azhar as a UN-designated global terrorist is meaningless. Both these
matters are typical of China’s ‘sweet and sour’ diplomacy.
Condemning China for
opposing Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India yet again reminded its
recalcitrant neighbour that "the State of Arunachal Pradesh is an
integral and inalienable part of India. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh
from time to time, as they visit other parts of India. This consistent position
has been conveyed to the Chinese side on several occasions," read a
statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs after the Prime Minister’s
recent visit.
The Indian rebuke was
in response to the spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs'
remarks which called for New Delhi to "respect the interests" of the
Chinese side while objecting to Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
"The Chinese
government has never recognized the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh and is
firmly opposed to the Indian leader's visit to the East Section of the
China-India boundary," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying
said in a statement. Beijing “warned” India to "refrain from any action
that may lead to escalation of disputes," adding, "China urges the
Indian side to bear in mind the common interests of the two countries, respect
the interests and concerns of the Chinese side, cherish the momentum of
improvement in bilateral relations, and refrain from any action that may lead
to the escalation of disputes or complicate the boundary question."
The Line of Actual
Control (LAC), that demarcates the Indian and Chinese territory, traverses five
Indian states, including Arunachal Pradesh. Since the military standoff at
Bhutan's Doklam plateau ended in August 2017, the tension has remained, even as
the troops of both India and China disengaged. Numerous instances of Chinese
troops crossing the LAC in the Arunachal sector have been reported since then.
Modi was on a whirlwind tour of the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, and Tripura last week, inaugurating projects with just a few months to
go for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Following the official
bilateral visit of China’s State Councilor and Defence Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe
to India from 21- 24 August 2018, marked by extensive discussions between him
and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as well as Defence Ministry and Army officials
and considering the Chinese renewal of activity in at least North Doklam and
intrusions in other sectors like Demchok, this writer had expressed doubts
about any meaningful effects of that meeting.
The unprecedented
Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping meeting at Wuhan made waves because it was approached
and organized/implemented differently compared to any previous Sino-Indian
summits. Wuhan should have resulted in improvement of some basic essentials
that India considers most important, i.e. peace on the Line of Actual
Control (LAC), without the almost daily border dispute issues, fair-trade ties,
ruffle-free politico-diplomatic relations and good/social, business,
cultural and educational exchanges.
However, China’s
latest objection to Modi’s tour of Arunachal Pradesh only confirms China’s
compulsions and complexes about its relationship with India persist. It remains
to be seen when and how, if ever, China will overcome these and opt for
meaningful ties with India which can actually benefit both.
(The author is a former Defence Ministry and Indian Army
spokesperson. He can be contacted at wordsword02@yahoo.com)
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