Writing in the “Newsweek” on “Sino-India Conflict”, Jeremy-Kahan tells
us that cold war between India and China has been raging on for decades.
This cold war primarily relates to 4,057 kilometer Indo-China border.
Recently, stories about new Chinese incursion into India have been
circulated with full vigour. To place matters for their proper
perspective, we see that China claims over 90,000 square kilometers of
Indian territory. Incidentally most of these claims are tied up with
Tibet. As Beijing now claims Tibet as part of China, by extension it now
claims parts of India that are historically seen as Tibetan. China’s
claims have thus led to bitterness between these two countries during
recent months.
Incidentally, last year anti-China unrest was witnessed in Tibet and as
a result, progress towards settling the border dispute had taken
dangerous turn. So far flames Tibetans were shown beating up the Chinese
shopkeepers in Lhasa and other Tibetan cities. These provocative acts of
coercion had created immense domestic pressure on Beijing to crash down
on the miscreants. The Communist Party leadership was greatly alarmed at
this Tibetan unrest and they were genuinely worried that the wave of
unrest might as well envelope other ethnic minorities like Uighurs and
Mongolians in Inner-Mongolia.
The implications of the dispute between India and China are ominous. And
it is feared that the growing hostility might turn into a flash point
leading to nuclear-armed neighbours turning the India-China border
dispute into an issue of concern to far more than the two parties
involved. To stem these risky developments, the United States and Europe
as well as rest of Asia must act fast to arrest this malady. Presently a
conflict involving India and China could result in a nuclear holocaust.
And it could also suck the West, either as an ally in the defence of
Asian democracy or as a mediator, trying to separate the contending
sides. Further Jerry Kahan brings out that Beijing appears increasingly
agitated about the safe haven India provides to the Dalai Lama and to a
large number of Tibetan exiles, including a large number of militant
supporters of Tibetan independence. These younger Tibetans are growing
impatient with the Dalai Lama’s approach, indicating a willingness to
accept Chinese sovereignty in return for true autonomy and commitment to
non-violence.
In case, these groups decide to use India as a base for armed conflict
against China and they might also seek to gain possession of important
Tibetan Buddhist monasteries that lie in Indian territory close to the
border. Already Beijing has launched a diplomatic offensive aimed at
undercutting Indian sovereignty over the areas, which the China claim
particularly the north-east state of Arunchal Pradesh.
Mr Kahan further tells us that to many Indians, China is an expansionist
power bent or thwarting India’s rise as a serious challenge to Beijing
influence in Asia. They are haunted by memories of India’s 1962 war with
China, in which China had launched a massive invasion, totally routing
the India’s forces unilaterally. They are fearful of China’s expanding
naval presence in the Indian Ocean, which would serve as a noose to
strangle India. Here, Shirk suggests that New Delhi should pursue ways
to open the border to commerce and communication drawing itself closer
to China. To him, China is now opening ties to Taiwan, as part of an
effort to win the hearts and minds of its people.
Based on this analogy, he hopes that China may eventually pursue a more
tolerant approach towards Tibet and other minority regions. It is a
matter of satisfaction that despite all the reports of border incursions
both India and China are serious about lowering the volume of tension.
To set things right China’s military officials had invited Indian
generals from all such regional commands to visit China and contribute
towards developing confidence building measures. Indian officials have
also pleaded with news organizations to tone down reporters on border
incursions. Indian National Security Advisor Mr. Narayanam warned that
“the beating of the war rums might become a self-fulfilling prophecy
leading to an unwarranted incident or accident with China.” Sum total of
this exercise is that extreme caution should be exercised in promoting
Indo-China relations.
