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The India – China stand-off is certainly turning out to be serious than it was thought to be . This attribute can be judged by the candid admission by Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh.
“Filhaal ki jo ghatna hain, yeh baat sacch hain ki seema par iss samay Cheen ke log bhi hain…unka daava hain ki ‘hamari seema yahan tak hain’. Bharat ka yeh daava hain ki hamari seema yahan tak hain (Whatever is happening at present… It’s true that the people of China are on the border. They claim that it is their territory. Our claim is that it is our area. There has been a disagreement over it. A sizeable number of Chinese people have come there. India has done what it needs to do),” news agency PTI quoted the Defence Minister as saying in a television interview.
This is not first time when under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government that India and China were engaged in a face-off . The two month long Doklam issue from June 16 2017 to 28 August 2017 is case in point.
With Doklam earlier and now eastern Ladakh and the LAC Line of Actual Control) , one thing is certain that the bonhomie as exuded by the government with China in recent times during the meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is far from cordial. Had the bonhomie stood in place these engagements on the border would not have arisen at the first place .
The pictures of new Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoying the swing on the sabarmati riverfront during the latter’s visit in 2014 September made the BJP go gung-ho about it’s ties with China.
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BJP spokespersons went on a overdrive saying whatever the blunders with China happened under the Congress government at the Centre. And even going to the extent of signalling out umpteen times the mistakes of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when it came to any India- China relations.
The sabarmati rendezvous was followed by the informal Wuhan summit ( April 27-28, 2018 ) after the Doklam stand-off where one thought the ties would be further enhanced as both sides engaged in dialogue to resolve pressing issues.
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The India – China ties seemed set to reach greater heights with the second informal summit after Wuhan , in temple town of Mahabalipuram ( October 11-12, 2019 ) between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Amidst these signs of mutual understanding between New Delhi and Beijing comes the LAC and the Ladakh border issue. Thereby putting the relations once again on the brink and turn frosty.
To end the latest dispute army commanders of both India, China are scheduled to meet on June 6 to resolve the current imbroglio. Whether the meet achieves the target to de-escalate the border tension remains to be seen.
China has been cornered by the world ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus and there is immense pressure in India to boycott Chinese products. So ties ahead is certainly on the edge.
Lastly, as India-China ties are on test again it becomes pertinent to ask – what has happened to the much talked about Wuhan spirit, and the bonhomie pictures at river sabarmati front and mahabalipuram summits?.
