Junaid Manzoor
India and china are rising giants of Asia. Both are not only the most populous nations but also possess booming economies and have sown seeds of deep mistrust in their bilateral relations. Their relationship has become increasingly complex; both countries view each other within an extremely sophisticated framework of cooperation and competition. At the same time however, ongoing and unresolved problems continue to plague the relationship. Their relations encountered both highs and lows from early 50’s till 1962. Initially relation remained quite cordial, based on the theory of Panjsheela “The peace co-existing” which later on started deteriorating by and by striking the lowest ebb in 1960’s when
a border dispute turned in a limited war in 1962 where India turned a turtle having lost a piece of land – Aksai chin. The Longju incident in the eastern sector and the Kongka pass in the western sector was a prelude to the all-out armed conflict on the border from 20 October to 21 November. China and India share a long border ranging approx. 4000 km’s stretch which is seldom on a boil. The Sino-Indian border rivalry is an outcome of the failure of India and china to mutually agree upon the exact alignment of their common boundary within the complexities of the Himalayan Ranges. The entire boundary between
India and china has not been formally delineated. The Indian side claims that the boundary runs along the Kunlun Range from the Karakoram Pass and China’s economic corridor to Pakistan and central Asia passes through Karakoram, which is close to Galwan valley and later close to Aksai chin plateau falling under Chinese control of area about 38000 square kms, which india stiil claims it an integral part of ladakh, the erstwhile state of jammu and Kashmir. The bone of contention is the legitimacy of possession of land areas of the Aksai chin and Arunachal Pradesh which is the seat or pedestal of being hegemonic in the entire Asian continent as the land lies at the high altitude above 4000 feet from sea level. The continuing Sino-Indian conflict was not, and is not, merely a border dispute. There were a number of other reasons associated with this conflict, which take it beyond the realm of a mere border misunderstanding. There are a variety of issues that are at play. The interpretation of the nature of the preferred global system between the communism and capitalism is one factor. The relation of both states with the superpowers and with other states in the South Asian sub-region is also an issue. China’s defense ties and bilateral relation with Pakistan, and conflicting viewpoints on the Dalai Lama and the
Tibetan Diasporas, all serve as irritants that hamper cooperation and show distrust. Finally over time changing character of bilateral relations between china and India is relevant. The latest violent face-off since May 5, at Pangong Tso(lake) is expected to further deteriorate bilateral ties between India and china. The two nuclear-armed Asian states have been engaged in the standoff since months at several points along the LAC. The violent face-off is somewhat linked to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution. China, which, like Pakistan, saw India’s move as unilaterally affecting its territory, strongly denounced the move at theSecurity Council last year. The current standoff is also a result of
china’s pushback against India’s recent con UN struction of infrastructure in border areas. India inaugurated the 255km Darbuk-shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road, built along LAC, last year. China objected, seeing the move as a threat to its interests in the region. The path to violent clashes could have been avoided if the leadership had behaved sensibly and chosen to engage each other diplomatically. Keeping the diplomatic channels open and giving diplomacy a chance could have helped reduce the tensions between the two booming economies. India still believes that China’s strategic thinking is shaped in “feint and deception”. Another issue haunting the Sino-Indian relations is their relationship with their
common neighbors viz. Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar etc. wherein Pakistan in particular anti- Indian element for its own reasons shoulders china against the Indian side in case any border or any other boils. Now since months back together china expending its influence on neighboring countries benefit -ting them of a slash in tax and tariff for the product’s export to Bangladesh, Nepal ,Bhutan etc.
This tug and tussle between india and china is sure to cleave the world into two halves-a major division batting the countries towards the side where their national interests are highly met and satisfied. So far in addition of lives lost in the Galwan clash , India is down with inferiority complex quite obvious in their posture and position to the extent that PM Modi denied any Chinese intrusion and any inch of land grabbing in the Indian territory. Indian people seeing this catastrophe are on prickles to banish all
Chinese products and services verbally but to be pragmatic in this regard is dead impossible. India is over assertive in carryon talks rather than walks to protect their sovereignty despite there is nothing left now, only flesh in uniform brandishing weapons all along the sino-india border with no valour at all. This zero sum game is there awaits a final conclusion that is what we all await too……..
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