By Haider Abbas
The standard modus-operandi of the world powers is that they show-up in advance to their ‘coming-acts’ and China too could fathom for it, but did it so unabashedly that while India’s PM Modi was in Beijing, meeting Chinese president Xi Jinping 2015, China’s state television showed up the Indian map without Jammu, Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, as reported by TheWire.in on May 15, 2015 1. Perhaps, never must have been a head of the state ‘disgraced so’ in a host country! But, the main opposition party Congress stayed ‘docile’ on it, had it was done with any Congress PM, all hell was to have been let loose, but the fact of the matter is that Modi should have right then curtailed his visit, come back home to start to prepare to meet China on military-terms, but instead chose to sleep on it, as even after the 2017 India-China Doklam stand-off, China did not relent, and instead built a full-fledged military complex, just 81 meters from the Indian post, reported NDTV.Com on Jan 17, 2018 2 . Will the PM be answerable as to what countermeasures did India take? As India has landed into a renewed heat since May 2020 in which 20 soldiers have been lost. Did PM Modi annul Article 370, on August 5, 2019, giving special status to JK&L totally on the backing of US and invited a joint-China-Pakistan conflagration, and as for US president Donald Trump, he has at the most , only ‘twice’ offered to mediate between India and China, informed OutlookIndia.Com on May 27, 2020 3 and on September 5, 2020 4 .
This US stand was coming even when India’s defense minister Rajnath Singh had openly stated, in parliament, that China has taken 38,000 square kms of Indian land in Ladakh, reported IndiaToday on September 17, 2020 5 , US remained silent , despite the fact that US had always wanted India to tackle China, for which India was reluctant as it anyway considered Pakistan as enemy no.1, US therefore, finally, took India to ‘class’ , when during the Trump-Biden debate, towards the US November elections, Trump lumped India with its nemesis Russia and China! As has been reported in TimesofIndia on September 30, 2020 6 , Trump made India to stand in line with Russia and China to have hidden the figures of the number of deaths in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. This took to Indian nerves and ‘finally and probably’ India succumbed to all the demands of US i.e. to scuttle China with US in South China Sea, cut China in straits of Malacca, all now on the dictates of US! Did India came on its knees is what the researchers would investigate tomorrow, but for the shameless customer that is US, it just cannot occur to help India until it would make sure to make India have a ’bout’ with China, all obviously to meet the mechanism for the US weapon industry. Thus, US waited , for its friend India, to be bashed-up-to-a-stage before India would be forced to align with US for its rescue.
Finally, when everything had been settled at backend, US announced on October 2, 2020 7, , as reported by LiveMint , that US statement department has declared that ‘ Arunachal Pradesh is Indian territory and the United States strongly opposes unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions, be it military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a US State Department official said. Amid the India-China border face-off, the state department official, during a Foreign Press Center briefing said, “We have – our position on some parts of the border for sure is explicitly clear. For nearly six decades, the US has recognized that Arunachal Pradesh is Indian territory. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions, by military or civilian incursions across the established LAC.”Giving an update on the India-US bilateral relations, the senior official said, “At a time when India is facing substantial security challenges, the growth in our defense partnership is exceptionally important. This partnership includes defense sales, particularly our offers of advanced US weapon systems, as a demonstration of our commitment to India’s security and sovereignty.”
From now onwards US is not to accept the Chinese claim of Arunachal Pradesh as its South Tibet, hence, any step from China to intrude in Arunachal Pradesh, militarily or through any civilian steps, will now face a challenge from India and US alike, which is perhaps, the biggest statement to have arrived from the US side in support of India, after Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had declared that China does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh as part of India and instead calls it as its South Tibet, as was reported by BusinessToday on September 8, 2020 8 . The lines are now to be evenly drawn as US is going to meet to China by providing its military, navy and air-force to the aid of India, and by way of it, Trump has also given a message, to the US citizens, that is it US under him which would give a robust answer to China, and therefore, in its order blunt the Chinese intentions towards the seven-sister-states of India in its North East.
Very soon, the US organisations are to start to hound China as now US is officially involved in the game across the mountains . Sanctions against China and its allies, read Pakistan, is what is now to follow soon and this all, is after all going to the targeted against CPEC which US can never see it happen. China, on its side, since the beginning of this on-going conflict, has been static in its approach that India should not act to the tunes of Washington and the latest act is certainly going to add more fuel-to-the-fire. The ends have justified the means, as while the Indo-China conflagration kept on going, US let it go, and Trump in order to ridicule India was again with a ‘mediation-offer’ on September 25, 2020 9 too! Reported TimesNowNews,, ironically the third in a row! The Trump tactics have now paid well.
It was once when India had rejected US invitations in the Indo-Pacific as PM Modi is said to have stated “India does not see the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy or as a club of limited members. Nor as a grouping that seeks to dominate. And by no means do we consider it as directed against any country. A geographical definition, as such, cannot be,” A statement that had disappointed Washington and Tokyo , had reported The Economic Times on July 9, 2018 10 but now India as a clear departure of its earlier position is engaged in naval exercises with Japan as a part of QUAD and also alongside US in South China Sea.
In the new emerging scenario India is now to stay adrift from Russia and into an embrace of US, it has already been made to ‘walk-out’ from Iran-Chabahar venture as China and Iran have entered into a deal of 400 billion USD for the next 25 years, hence, India is to gravitate towards the Arab-states which are against Iran and are in-love with Israel which is a long friend of India.
All this is adding to the momentum of November elections, and once elections are done with, the world might come face-to-face with a war, howsoever, short or may be long it might be.
The writer is a former State Information Commissioner, India. He is a media analyst and writes of international politics.
References:
1-https://thewire.in/diplomacy/chinese-state-owned-television-shows-india-map-sans-jammu-kashmir-arunachal
2-https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/full-fledged-chinese-military-complex-in-doklam-show-satellite-pics-1801323
3-https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-donald-trump-offers-to-mediate-border-dispute-between-india-and-china/353609
4-https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/world-news-very-nasty-situation-donald-trump-again-offers-to-mediate-on-india-china-border-dispute/359838
5-https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/china-india-territory-ladakh-rajnath-singh-rajya-sabha-statement-1722663-2020-09-17
6-https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-presidential-debate-donald-trump-questions-india-coronavirus-data/articleshow/78398290.cms
7-https://www.livemint.com/news/india/-arunachal-pradesh-is-indian-territory-us-opposes-china-s-attempts-to-advance-territorial-claims-11601600632295.html
8-https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/china-says-never-recognised-arunachal-pradesh-calls-it-chinas-south-tibet-region/story/415452.html
9-https://www.timesnownews.com/international/article/relentless-donald-trump-once-again-offers-mediation-in-india-china-stalemate-says-we-would-love-to-help/657735
10-https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/indians-dont-like-to-be-subordinate-hence-rejected-indo-pacific-strategy-chinese-state-media/articleshow/64913292.cms
And it did as well !