India China border tension 2020| As the armies of Asia’s two Biggest economies & two most populous countries in the world stand off against each other in eastern Ladakh, speculations are that war will happen or this will be handle on the diplomatic level. World has seen almost same situation in Doklam also in 2017, when dispute rages over construction of road by China in Doklam near a trijunction border area, known as Donglang, a territory which is claimed by both China & Bhutan. Even at that time speculations were there that war will happen or 1962 will repeat again. However, diplomacy has a great deal to play in that situation & after 2 months things got sorted.
As taken by satellite images
& quoted from higher officials, thousands of Chinese troops have infiltrated
into the Galwan valley of Ladakh. Not only this, even Chinese troops have dug
out trenches, put up their tents & moved their heavy artillery & trucks
several kilometres inside Indian territory.
It seems China is not happy with
the Infrastructure development by the Indian Army near LAC, although it’s in
the Indian side of the border. On May 22,
India's army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane dashed off to Leh, the capital
of Ladakh territory which was carved out of Indian-administered Kashmir last
August, to take stock of the situation.
So why China is building tension in this Global pandemic situation,
when whole world is suffering from Covid-19?
Well the answer resides in question only. Here
is a perspective that Chinese President Xi has been under pressure over his
handling of the Corona crisis. Chinese government already facing backlash from
USA, Australia, Japan & many European countries for its role in hiding early
information regarding Covid-19. Australia has appealed for enquiry into the
origin of coronavirus. Japan has even sarcastically commented that WHO is Wuhan
health organisation & not world health organisation, due to being involved with
China in early stages of Corona spread.
In Economic front & Business,
most of the companies are taking out their factories & plants out of China
& trying to establish it in Vietnam, India & Mexico majorly. Britain
& Germany are hesitating to invite Chines tech giant Huawei to do business
in their geographies. There is a growing mistrust for China among developed
countries. This is certain that outbreak of Covid-19 has tarnished the generous
global actor of China.
In this turmoil when the Chinese economy
is suffering, & there is increase of negative sentiments towards China, so
to control the domestic situation & its public sentiments, China is distracting
its population by expanding boundaries & shifting their focus on these
border disputes, the way they did in 1962 as well.
So, what analysts have to say on this?
Military strategists & analyst
fear that this latest conflict can escalate to war if not resolved peacefully
& diplomatically. As quoted by Ajai Shukla (Indian defence analyst)- “China
wants the border problem to linger; it keeps India off balance and prevents
India from focusing its attention on Tibet, where China is in deep problem[s]”.
Writing in the pro-Beijing Global
Times newspaper, Long Xingchun from Beijing Foreign Studies University said the
latest border friction was "a planned move" by New Delhi. He further
quoted "India in recent days has
illegally constructed defence facilities across the border into Chinese
territory in the Galwan Valley region, leaving Chinese border defence troops no
other options but making necessary moves in response, and mounting the risk of
escalating standoffs and conflicts between the two sides,"
Jeff Smith, Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington
and author of 'Cold Peace: China-India Rivalry in the Twenty-First Century' quoted
“I think each country in China’s
periphery is trying to strike a very delicate balancing act, trying to reap all
the benefits of continued engagement with China while taking measures to
protect their sovereignty and independence”
Will there be any economic repercussions
for Both India & China? Is there anything out for US? Is this a signal of
Cold war between US & China?
So here is Economic repercussions for both India & China, as there is
a delicate balance of trade & partnership between these two huge
neighbours. As from last 2 years we have seen the trade tensions between US
& China intensifies, however now in Pandemic situation this tension has become
extreme, Donald Trump even called Coronavirus as Chinese Virus in many public
platforms. According to predictions by many strategic & economic experts, US
& China are set to enter cold war & advised India to stay away from this
rivalry.
Many American companies have establishments in China, & due to US-China
rivalry & deteriorating relations they have decided to shift from China to India.
Same way Chinese are looking eastwards to invest in countries like India as
they attempt to economically disengage from the US. However, India has
introduced restrictions & rules over Chinese investment, which has
signalled Indian inclination towards US.
Also, campaigns started by activists Sonam Wangchuk where he requested
Indians to boycott Chinese products is going to be an economic disaster for China
if followed rightly, as India is China’s biggest market after US. Also, in such
troubled economic conditions India cannot afford to take a ‘financial hit”.
Recently American President Mr. Donald Trump has offered his help for becoming
a mediator or Arbitrator for Indo- China standoff. India should not get
deviated in this US-China cold war, it should play it cards wisely. Both India
& China has a proper mechanism in place to deal with these types of
skirmishes & conflicts, they had done before & hoping they will do it
this time also. India should not become a US pawn against China by favouring US
in this possible US-China cold war. India has very less to gain from this cold
war, hence it should focus on its growth more than anything else.
In this corona crisis, where India’s unemployment rate has reached 26%
mark & it is increasing further. I personally don’t think that going to war
will be a good decision. Both countries will resolve this issue by diplomacy &
bilateral agreements. Also, China also doesn’t want to be in a situation where
politics leads to terrible financial consequences. Especially at the time when most
of the countries are trying to make lobby against them.
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