January 22, 2025

In a single day, two unrelated news emanated from China that gave the impression that going against world opinion, China was trying to help Pakistan by snubbing India. The first news was about the Chinese blocking a tributary of the Brahmaputra in Tibet to construct a dam. The second was about them extending their objection to designating JeM chief Masood Azhar a terrorist under UN 1267 committee rules. If the news were about something else, one could have gone along with the speculation. But they were both old reports which became relevant again as in the first case the work for the dam started and in the second case, the date for extending the objection fell on that day. It was just coincidence that both were flashed on the same day amidst rising tensions between India and Pakistan.

China has, in the past twenty days, snubbed Pakistan twice by not going along with its thinking on Jammu & Kashmir and cross-border terrorism. Despite saying that its friendship with Pakistan is “unbreakable” the country had chosen not to support its repeated misadventures of sending armed terrorists across the border to hit at Indian targets, including army camps and sleeping soldiers. In this, China has taken a pragmatic stand that is consistent with the view of most other countries in the world – that aid and support for any kind of terrorism, the so-called “good” or bad, will not be tolerated. Given rumblings of Muslim terror groups in China’s Uyghur province, where the East Turkestan Islamic Movement is aiming for an independent Islamic state, it has to be against terrorism.

In extending the technical ‘hold’ on India’s application for Masood Azhar, China has said that it has extended the hold as the inquiry into the original application has not been completed and as if it does not extend the objection the application will be automatically accepted. This is a valid and consistent explanation. India should wait till the UN completes the inquiry before reading ulterior motives in this extension of hold. If the UN finds valid ground for banning Azhar and if China still objects only then can India treat it as an unfriendly act and talk to China about it. As for the construction of the dam, India and Bangladesh should jointly impress upon China that being lower riparian countries, their interests should be protected if the dam is constructed. They should approach the ICJ if they find they are being deprived of water.

China will obviously try to put India in a sticky position as much as it can. It has been doing this by assiduously cultivating friendships with Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and to a lesser extent Bangladesh. But Pakistan’s misadventures have caused realignment in the region with most countries supporting India, as the recently cancelled SAARC summit in Islamabad showed. Hence, China will do well to impress upon its friend Pakistan to abandon its path of terror and talk with India to settle outstanding disputes between the two countires.