Amid the rising US-China tensions over various issues including coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, China has reportedly advised India not to get involved in the US-China confrontation. As per sources, Beijing has warned India against becoming a ‘US pawn’ in the new Cold War between China and the US, or else India would face a massive economic blow amid COVID-19 pandemic.
It further said that India has little to gain from engaging in a US-China conflict and that the Modi government must face the new geopolitical developments objectively and rationally.
“With nationalist sentiment on the rise in India, there have been some voices calling for the Indian government to join the new Cold War and exploit its position for more gains. Such irrational voices are nothing but misleading, which should not represent the mainstream voices and sway the Indian government’s stance. Fundamentally speaking, India has little to gain from engaging in a US-China conflict over any topic, with more to lose than gain, which is why the Modi government needs to face the new geopolitical development objectively and rationally,” read the article ‘Advisable for India not to engage in US-China confrontation’ published in Global Times, a Chinese publication long considered to reflect the views of the ruling Communist Party.
The article added that under the current circumstance, India must not include the US factor in its handling of any problem in its relations with China, otherwise, it will complicate the relations between Beijing and New Delhi.
“If in a new Cold War, India leans toward the US or becomes a US pawn attacking China, the economic and trade ties between the two Asian neighbors will suffer a devastating blow. And it would be too much for the Indian economy to take such a hit at the current stage,” read the article, while adding that since the lockdown is being withdrawn, China is “still willing to offer support to India’s lockdown lifting by strengthening bilateral cooperation to help its economic recovery and deepening bilateral trade ties”.
Further, while referring to the recent China-India border tension, the article said that the offer of US mediation in the issue is unnecessary and both India and China are capable of resolving their problems peacefully. The article asserted that there is no need for third-party intervention in this matter.
A border standoff is underway between India and China in Ladakh; in eastern Ladakh. Reports claimed that the Chinese military was hindering normal patrolling by its troops along the LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim, and strongly refuted Beijing’s contention that the escalating tension between the two armies were triggered by trespassing of Indian forces across the Chinese side as in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok, and Daulat Beg Oldie. The Indian Army had significantly ramped up its presence in sensitive border areas in North Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh besides Ladakh to send across a message that India will not be wilting under any aggressive military posturing by China.
Several areas along the Line of Actual Control or LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have seen major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.
The article also mentioned about Indian government’s decision to lift the nationwide lockdown, noting that though India is yet to flatten the coronavirus cases curve the decision to end the lockdown is understandable, as its economy has been under enormous strain from the lockdown.
