India Must Expose China's Manipulative Conduct On The Global Stage
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-08-30 07:36:24
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The India Commentary view
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China is at it again. Close on the heels of an informal meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Modi on the sidelines of the Brics summit in South Africa and just before President Xi is slated to visit India for the G20 summit, it has released a new map of China, the 2023 edition of the standard map, which incorporates Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as its own territories. Although India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has termed the Chinese move 'absurd' and has said that "making absurd claims does not make about other people's territories yours", it is clear that China's provocative move has strained Indo-Chinese relations further. The Ministry of External Affairs lodged a strong protest against the map through diplomatic channels and warned that such steps would only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.
China has always maintained that Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it. To this end, it has repeatedly shown it as its own territory in successive maps. It has also given Chinese names to several key places in the state. Further it has protested against the visit of Indian ministers and dignitaries to the state. It has also denied visas to Arunachal residents to visit China. All these are planned moves in pursuit of its expansionist policies and to keep India under pressure. But India has always maintained that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India.
The latest move by China also shows that despite meetings at the highest level, the Chinese are not seriously interested in resolving the border dispute. They always try to alter the status quo in a bid to complicate the resolution process further. India must take a strong stand against these tactics. Just saying that it is "an old habit of theirs", as Jaishankar said, will not do anymore. India must take a resolute stance against China's unjustified territorial assertions and strengthen its collaboration with allied nations to effectively counter China's aggressive maneuvers. Protecting its national interests becomes paramount, and India should expose China's manipulative conduct on the global stage.
