As the world suffers from one of the worst setbacks since decades, India too has had its fair or unfair share of the implications of the hegemony of the Wuhan Virus. The invisible virus, whose size is of the order of a few nanometers, has apparently jammed the Global economy, and medical infrastructure. But, this miniscule enemy has left a detrimental impact on one more field, which is worthy of attention- The Geopolitical/Strategic Scenario of the world. This virus has suddenly turned the tables upside down, by rendering the USA and China as staunch nemesis. The West, precisely Europe, which had stayed Neutral in the US-China trade war has started to incline towards the Union Jack. To everyone’s surprise, a country as neutral as Australia has also admitted China of being a “potential threat to global peace”, and has started to change its strategic policies, and by agreeing upon a gradual 40% increase in its defence budget. So, over the next few paragraphs, we’ll discuss the key points, which have rendered India, and the whole world against China.
- China’s COVID19 response mechanism:-
It is pretty sure by initial investigations, that the Wuhan Virus had appeared much earlier than was stated by the Chinese. So, by the time the virus had already started to show its traces in a few countries like Thailand, Taiwan etc, the WHO had no clue, as to what new kind of “pneumonia” had started to spread in Wuhan. The Chinese kept the virus a secret to avoid panic in its citizens, and to avoid further depletion in its reputation- it being one of the largest producers of different viruses in the world. Because of this irrationality of the Chinese, the world saw the tiny enemy unleash its wrath in all dimensions of the map. Italy, USA, Russia, Brazil, India and Britain have already seen over a million cases, and are still counting. This foolhardiness brought the West, particularly the US, and Europe against China. It is to be noted that initially, India was almost neutral in its views vis-a-vis CHINA, and was only demanding impartial investigation in the origination of the virus. As President Donald Trump aptly quoted, “the ink of the signatures of trade deals had not even dried, and China gave the world the plague.”
- China’s aggressive manoeuvres in Ladakh:- Basically there are two major reasons as to why China abruptly set its claims over Galwan valley. They are:
- Psychological Warfare – China has suddenly become a “Villain” in the eyes of the entire world, because of its irrational and secretive handling of the outbreak of COVID19. Many countries like the USA, Britain, India, Taiwan and The European Union are demanding an impartial probe against the Chinese regime in the matter. Now since India is the only balancing power against China in Asia, its call over this “Probe demand” carries utmost importance. Thus, the Chinese escalated the matters in Ladakh, resulting in the standoffs in Galwan, Pangong Tso, Depsang etc. The Chinese had deployed their three border defence companies of the 363rd Border Regiment alone at Pangong Tso. In addition to that, additional Patrol Boat Sqn and 6th Mechanised Division were also called in. One may find these deployments very aggressive, and tormenting. But, these were merely the part of a psychological operation conducted to terrorise India, and get it to withdraw its support for
an impartial probe of the Wuhan Virus outbreak. The Chinese didn’t realise that this aggression of theirs was a boomerang, which retraced its trajectory and accidentally hit themselves in the throat. The will power of the Indians only grew stronger by this mischief.
- The policy of Salami Slicing – You must have seen a chef cutting vegetables. They incise into it in a very precise manner, cutting the entire vegetable into slices. This is analogous to the policies used by China to make territorial claims. The Chinese lay their claim over Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Aksai Chin. In the coming future, it’ll not be surprising to listen to Chinese claims over Sikkim, Assam and the entire North East of India. This is because China has an expansionist policy. It believes in expanding its territorial and economic sovereignty as much as possible. In other words, “China is the modern East India Company”. But at the same time, they are sane enough to realise the threats and consequences of a full blown conflict with any nation. So, in order to fulfil their lust for land, they cross in about 10-12 km, engage in a standoff for a month or so, and then retreat about 9-11 km. This enables them to illegally gain a “Slice” of foreign territory. If this process is repeated for a few more times, they gain whatever they want, avoiding large scale conflicts.
- Rage against India’s decision to scrap Article 370- The Government of India scrapped Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian Constitution, and bifurcated the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Since the Chinese lay their claim over Ladakh, and since they enjoy very “cordial” relations with Pakistan, they vehemently opposed the abolishment of special status of J and K. By their nuisance in the recent Ladakh standoffs, they wanted to send a threat message to India, which were not so well received by the Indian Armed Forces. Instead, the Chinese must have learnt a lesson of their lives from their Indian Gurus of Bihar Regiment.
- Chinese bullying in the South China Sea:-
Global trade of around $4 Trillion takes place through the South China Sea. This renders it to be one of the most important maritime regions of the world. Thus, the PLA Navy increased its presence in the region, initially by calling it “Necessary for Anti-piracy”, and then doing a 180 degree flip and building artificial islands with airstrips, and naval bases all across the South China sea, troubling India, Japan, Australia, EU, and the US by hampering free trade. In order to counter these Chinese aggressions in the SCS, an unofficial Quad has come together, consisting of the US, India, Australia, and Japan. The four regularly conduct naval exercises like Malabar in this region, to keep the dragon in its senses.
- Economic traps of China:-
China is one of the world’s largest fund lending countries. It lends high amounts of funds at low interest rates, but at draconian terms. The current such debt trap project is working as a shadow in the Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC- China Pakistan Eastern Corridor, is a sub-project under the BRI and much of this project is funded by Chinese banks, at incredibly low interest rates, but unimaginably gruesome conditions. Experts say, that if the Pakistani government fails to repay the
as per the agreement, much of their strategic assets like Gwadar, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be acquired by China economically. And once a land is occupied economically, it will not be long, when it will become a territorial gain of China. You may understand this by comparing it with the East India Company. It is to be noted that China has already acquired the Hambantota Port of Sri Lanka for 99 years, a major port in the Horn of Africa; Djibouti, and a port in Maldives. And it seems quite possible that China will soon acquire such ports in Pakistan, and airstrips in Nepal, thereby winning Supremacy over Indian Ocean Region, Bay of Bengal and South China Sea.
- The new security law of Hong Kong:-
Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed over to China on terms that China shall allow its economy, politics to be self governed for 50 years. The deadline of the 50 year term was to end in 2047, but the dragon, in a show of grotesque hypocrisy introduced and implemented the new security law in Hong Kong, taking most of the fundamental rights from the citizens. This drew widespread protests in Hong Kong, and the entire world. The Chinese reportedly have already deployed their military in the Specially Governed autonomous territory to suppress the citizens. This is one more reason, as to why India, and the entire world has taken a negative stance against China.
All the above mentioned points prove that China has now become a threat to global peace. In order to counter it, India must start its alignment with the West and other neighbours to counter the military and diplomatic might of China, and at the same time, patiently wait for her economy to boom by self reliance.
