Double-Faced China Keeps India On Tenterhooks
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-08-23 20:29:24
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Is the disengagement at the LAC happening or not? Every few days the public is being fed with conflicting news. One day we are told that talks are being held at some level or the other and the Chinese are withdrawing. A few days later we are told that they are not moving out. Finally, it was reported today that the Chinese are digging in their heels by beefing up the stores at their camps and are constructing roads and bunkers just a shade away from the actual engagement spots. What does one make of this?
It is clear that like always, China is being double-faced. Its intentions are clear. It wants to keep India engaged in talks to show the international community that it is trying to resolve the dispute in a responsible manner. On the other hand, it wants to quietly carry forward its agenda of not ceding the stretches of Indian land it has surreptitiously occupied.
China has been eyeing to expand in all directions, via land and sea. For this, it has had disputes with all its neighbours. Apart from India, in the immediate vicinity, it has eyed land in Bhutan. It has also been reported that it has been 'capturing' pieces of land in Nepal. The standoff at Doklam has not faded from public memory when China tried to take control of a strategic location, also known as Chicken's Neck, which is the corridor to Sikkim. The present standoff is also due to the fact that China wants strategic control of several tracts of land in Ladakh, especially the region around Pangong Lake.
But India has been resolute in demanding that China revert to the position as it was in April 2020. It has been engaging the Chinese in talks at all levels. It has also beefed up its positions in response to the Chinese buildup. India has not blinked. It has won support from Western nations, especially the US. There is no need yet to push the Chinese out of the areas they have intruded into. But if they show no inclination to move out, that might become necessary and India must be prepared for that. For, otherwise, the Chinese will make it a habit of surreptitiously moving in by some kilometers after some months and claim the area as theirs, leading to many such standoffs in the future.
