The prospect of international isolation is looming large. So, the Chinese authorities have now started playing their bullying tactics and as usual, India is one of the countries being targeted. As a matter of fact, by targeting India, China is attempting to kill two birds with one stone. First, by preventing India from becoming too close to the United States and secondly, scuttling India’s chance to become the manufacturing hub of the world. In today’s world, countries often indulge in such strategies but what is worrying is the timing and the manner in which China has adopted it .
India and China are two Asian giants, bitj the countries having many similarities in terms of size, population and potential to serve mankind. But unfortunately, these two countries have not enjoyed a cordial relationship in the later part of the 20th century. At present, the two countries are not at loggerheads as previously seen, but there are still miles to go before relations between them can be ideal. The two countries differ on many important international issues, the first one is obviously terrorism. Notwithstanding the fact that the world recognises Pakistan as a breeding ground of terrorism, China’s support to the is a bone of contention between New Delhi and Beijing. Moreover, China does not favour India becoming a member of Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) and prevented India’s entry to the group several times. It is understood that if India becomes a partner in Beijing’s ambitious ‘One Border, One Road’ (OBOR) project or does not raise objections to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), things will definitely change. But, New Delhi simply cannot indulge such thoughts as that will amount to compromising India’s sovereignty.
China has not taken India’s stand kindly, it was evident on many occasions. But India has nothing to fear as in today’s world as a nation, India has more friends than China. It is due to pressure from India and it’s friends that China had to finally relent at the Security Council meeting, which imposed sanctions on some Pakistan-based terrorists. While, China dealing with the aftermath Covid-19 arrived in all its fury. The spread of the pandemic has damaged the country’s reputation severely. Various reasons are being attributed to the spread of corona virus worldwide, that too in such a short span of time. American President Donald Trump has openly accused both China and World Health Organisation (WHO) for collusion and has stopped aids to WHO. Other nations too are putting China on the dock for the same. So, China is now desperate to shift the attention from Covid-19 to other issues. But, here China is making a mistake as Indian leadership is mature enough to defuse such tensions diplomatically. It was evident during the Doklam crisis, so, surely India will not dance to Chinese tunes. Initially Beijing will up the ante, only to fizzle away in due course. Thus, the recent skirmishes at India-China border can best be termed as a Chinese misadventure.
