China is exerting pressure on India on a range of fronts. It’s time for India to push back—and to reach out to Taiwan.
Chinaloves to keep the pot boiling with countries it perceives as potential rivals, a fact no more evident than it is with its dealings with India in recent years. China’s recent decision to deny a visa to Indian Lt. General B. S. Jaswal, head of the Northern Command, is therefore just another example of its determination to find new issues to further complicate the already complex web of India-China differences.
The game is being played at multiple levels with Jammu and Kashmir, which is seen by China as an area of ‘international dispute’ in the same way as Arunachal Pradesh. At first glance, it seems a relatively recent diplomatic gambit. But it’s one that was first introduced some years ago, when the planned visit to Ladakh by the People’s Liberation Army Commander of the Lanzhou Military Region that covers Xinjiang (which sits opposite Jammu and Kashmir) was cancelled at the last moment by China on the grounds that Pakistan had protested that the territory is disputed. This move was soon followed by a visa denial to an official from the state on similar grounds, while last year, the Chinese embassy followed up by inventing a new method of giving stapled visas.
This has all come against a backdrop of PLA moves to enhance its road and rail-building work in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, with little indication that China sees the area as disputed or recognises that such activities are grossly illegitimate given India’s legal sovereignty.
None of this has gone unnoticed by decision makers in New Delhi. Yet, for the past decade they’ve played down these problems in the expectation that deepening engagement would eventually influence attitudes at the top in China and gradually result in a softening of the Chinese position.
But this hasn’t happened. If political liberals believed that flourishing trade ties (now worth $60 billion) or construction, power and telecom company contracts being signed with a total value of $25 billion to $30 billion would elicit a modicum of moderation on the Chinese side over these critical issues, they will have been hugely disappointed. There has been no moderation on the territorial and other differences that continue to dog the relationship, despite India presenting a united front with China on international trade and environment issues.
And China has a long list of demands. It wants Arunachal to be handed over (or, at the very least, Tawang and a few other areas); it wants India to stop offering sanctuary to the Dalai Lama so his struggle for the rights of the Tibetan people and Tibetan autonomy will be silenced; it wants to retain most of the territory it has forcibly occupied in Ladakh, land that extends well beyond even its official claim line of 1956; it wants Nepal to be neutral; it wants India to shun close ties with the United States; it wants to further open India’s market for its companies…and the list goes on.
Photo Credit: Rajkumar1220
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ari
New Delhi mustn’t learn to be too arrogant. Don’t think Beijing – made up mainly of tough, savage northern Chinese – is a pushover. If New Delhi continues to behave badly, it could expect another Genghis Khan treatment, much like Tamerlane after it. Don’t be too smart and alecky.
Sravan
@ari
have you even read the article…
Or is ur dictionary so flawed that arrogance means exercising the right to defend oneself
anyway the only way china can defeat an Indian city would be nukes and if China uses nukes against India first the world will come after you
long
India, Russia, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and the US should form a coalition to contain the bullying China. This is the only way to stop China’s expansionism.
Indian Maverick
Well since china is issuing stapled visas on separate papers to visitors from jammu/kashmir to china, india should do the same for people from tibet and xinjiang too.They did this due to pressure from pakistan to intervene directly in the J&k issue as a legtimate claimant to indian land(POK) that was ceded by pakistan to china, effectively to involve china in the dispute between india and pakistan as a third claimant party which has no legitimate claims to that areas in the first place.
And china should have known better as to not to have involved itself in that issue which is solely indias and pakistans issue in the first place, thus reinforcing indias believe that china is trying to expand at indias expense.
Thus india should issue visas on seperate peices of paper instead of stamping on their passports for people from tibet and xinjiang who visit india.
sunny
India showed the guts during chinese premier’s visit by not mentioning one china policy first time. writer is correct, India shouldn’t give unilateral concessions to chinese. It should cooperate with other regional allies who are also target of chinese bullying. put a heavy duty on chinese import till trade imbalance issue is not sort out. It’s pure and simple we don’t need chinese but they need our market to dump their cheap products. We are just selling them raw materials which could be used in growth of India in future. they don’t supply any high tech products or any other key resource, product, energy, tech.
Don’t repeat the mistake of US which is now in huge imbalance with china. Develop Indian military strength to response any chinese misadventure and be part of any alliance to control chinese assertiveness.
Start giving stapled visa to people from Tibet and Xinjiang and recognise Taiwan.
Michael
Indian Hindu nationalism is the greatest threat to India’s future prosperity! The notion that India doesn’t need China to develop is the delusion of those who believe that India is destined to be a superpower! Sooner of later Indian’s are gonna come to the realization that the CIA has completely infiltrated India’s political class and their Indian Brahmin stooges are simply carrying out their masters orders. India already has enough hostile neighbors, I’m not sure why India feels its in its best interest to pick a fight with China. This is why India will never develop into a prosperous country…it’s too focused on war instead of peace!
TruceorSword
This great game will be over the day Baluchistan and Sindh gains independence from Punjab. In no other country you will see the minority controlling the majority. Baluchistan and Sindh are rich in natural resources and have talented people but is exploited by the Punjab with nothing in return. Sindh is already turning into a salty marsh due to irregular supply of water from Punjab. Baluchistans natural resources are taken away while itself seeing no development. It is good to unite against the outsider but don;t fail to see who is breaking you apart from the inside.
Amit
India has to be powerful and strong. India has to be competitive and let the Chinese know India can do it. India should never be fooled by Chinese. China will always play the proxy war against India involving Pakistan. Pakistan is no match to India. Bottom line is that China is the biggest enemy of India and that need to be tackled with tit for tat. India needs to build more powerful nuclear arsenal and let the Chinese think about it.
Michael
With 1 billion living on less than $2.00 dollars a day and 800 million Indians defecating in the open right now, I think India should take care of its poor instead of trying to start another war. Hindu nationalism is simply too radical and fanatical, just like radical Islam!
Shah
Sir,
There were poor in the past and there are poor now and there will be poor in the future – Once the Nation is totally secured then it shall be very easy to solve the internal problems like poverty, education, health etc. At the moment the funds are required to secure the nation and if it is not done so then the nation and the people will be enslaved- and then there shall be poverty for ever.
sam
Michael————If hindus were as you portay, islam, christianity will not have existed in india.China is far bigger danger not only to india but to the world. They represent evil. Hindus are now waking up to the tricks of china and their servant pakistan. Just wait to see hindu power. It is coming to destroy evil
Armageddon Thru To You
India, your Ganhdi approach to China will never work. Start playing hardball and line your border with missiles pointed at China and start buying nuclear subs to surround China or you will be destroyed
Indian Maverick
@ Armageddon Thru To You
Agreed. India should abort practically, but not toally forgetting its gandhian ways of peace. India should play hardball with countries which play hardball to peace, as a tit for tat measure..
Shah
sir,
Be prepared and ready for war and peace will follow.