Global Times, the Chinese state-run daily, has once again criticised India for sending troops to Doklam and dragging the standoff between the two Armies.
In an article published on August 1, Global Times said that India is deliberately trying to project the Asian giant as its ‘enemy’ in an attempt to cover up (internal) failures. The daily claimed that India is well aware of the fact that Beijing would never pose a threat to New Delhi.
Long Xingchun, a research fellow at The Charhar Institute and Director of the Centre for Indian Studies at China West Normal University who wrote the article, urged India not to make up an imaginary ‘China threat’, saying: “It is hard to understand India’s groundless ‘China threat’ theory. India probably just needs an enemy, even an imaginary one. With multiple nationalities, religions and languages, plus intense internal conflicts and a strong centrifugal force pushing against national unity, India needs an external enemy as distraction.”
The South Asian country needs a new ‘enemy’ because it becomes impossible for India to normalise ties with neighbouring Pakistan, argued Long. He explained: “The previous arch-enemy Pakistan will no longer suffice as India grows into a big power. China, with large border areas in dispute and the memory of the 1962 war, naturally fills that place.” Long further said: “Close ties between China and Pakistan are a threat in India’s eyes, although China maintains a neutral stance on the Kashmir conflict and encourages India and Pakistan to solve it in a peaceful manner.”

Image Courtesy: Daily Mail

The research fellow believes India has made a mistake by sending troops to Doklam. He rubbished New Delhi’s claim that security of the Siliguri Corridor would be compromised, if Beijing developed infrastructure at the India-Bhutan-China border. “Even if the Chinese troops seize the 27km-wide corridor, this could in no way stop the movement of the Indian troops between the main bulk of Indian territory and its north-eastern region. India knows this well enough and dwells on the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ to find an excuse for its intrusion into Doklam,” said Long. He stressed that the Siliguri Corridor was on a plain rather than a plateau, adding: “It only resembles a ‘Chicken’s Neck’ on a map, rather than a ‘neck’ in a geographical or military sense.” Siliguri Corridor or Chicken’s Neck is a narrow stretch of land, located in the eastern Indian province of West Bengal, which connects the north-eastern region of India to the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, the Global Times advised India not to consider South Asia as its backyard and not to worry about China’s growing naval might. Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius do not see a threat from Beijing, said the daily. So far, India has made no comments on the article published in the Chinese daily.

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Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das