India Refuses to Bite Beijing’s Peace Posturing Tactics

As the chair of the SCO, India hosted the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting on April 28-29. The meeting was attended by the Defence Ministers from Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. While Pakistan’s special advisor to the Prime Minister on defence joined the meeting virtually. Chairing the meeting Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh called on the SCO Members to eliminate terrorism collectively and fix responsibility for those who abet terrorism. Reaching a consensus, members signed a protocol expressing their collective will to keep the region peaceful, stable and prosperous.

Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with defence ministers of Russia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan. But the interaction that garnered much interest has been the bilateral talks between Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Gen Li Shengfu. This is the Chinese defence minister’s first visit to India since the 2020 Galwan clash. Days after the 18^th round of India and China Corps Commanders meeting, the defence ministers sat across the table to discuss bilateral issues. The Galwan clash has derailed the bilateral ties between both countries.

For better optics and a grand narrative setting, ahead of the SCO meeting and the G20 meeting to be held later in the year in India where Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping will meet, China has changed its tack and started making fresh overtures for re-engagement with India. Besides, in line with its newest surging grand aspirations as a major power and a peacemaker, China is now investing in posturing peace with India.

As a build-up to his discourse, the Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang who was in India to attend the G20 foreign ministers meeting in March met his Indian counterpart, EAM Jaishankar. As per the Chinese readout, Qin said- “as neighbouring major countries and leading emerging economies, China and India have far more common interests than differences. The development and revitalisation of China and India, embodying a boost to the force of developing countries, will change the destiny of one-third of the World’s population and bear on the future of Asia and beyond”¹.

A similar narrative was peddled by Ma Jia, Charge d’ Affaires Chinese Embassy in an article published in the Hindu titled- “China, India and the promise of the power of two”, which said, “China and India have far more common interests than differences”². Reiterating the same perspective, on March 22, Ma Jia, in a press briefing said, “China and India are not threats to each other, but an opportunity for each other’s development” and “be cooperation partners to each other instead of being competitive rivals”³. Notably, this was the window when Beijing was flaunting its diplomatic makeover as a mediator.

Notwithstanding the two unresolved frictional points in Eastern Ladakh- Depsang and Demchok, China tried to project a rosy picture of the LAC. Trouncing this narrative, EAM Jaishankar asserted, “The Eastern Ladakh remains very fragile and quite dangerous”⁴. Coincidentally, similar divergent discourses are now out in the open post India and China defence ministers meeting in New Delhi.

The Government of India statement read, “The Raksha Mantri categorically conveyed that development of relations between India and China is premised on the prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders. He added that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments”. While the Chinese readout said, “the situation on the China-India border is generally stable and the two sides have maintained communication through military and diplomatic channels. The two sides should take a long-term view, place the border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations, and promote the transition of the border situation to normalised management”⁵. Post, the Galwan clash, India has maintained that unless the border dispute is resolved, it can’t be business as usual. It has strictly adhered to this stance in letter and spirit.

Denouncing China for violating all the bilateral agreements that have eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations, Rajnath Singh has conveyed that “all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments”⁵. Subtly expressing, India’s disappointment with Beijing whose words never match its actions, Rajnath Singh avoided a handshake with his Chinese counterpart.

In the course of 35 months long border stand-off along the LAC, both countries have held over half a dozen rounds of military and diplomatic talks. Except for disengagement at two regions- Hot Springs and Pangong Tso, the border remains very tense. With India refusing to give in and cower down under pressure, the Chinese strategic community is now perceiving India as a “difficult opponent” to negotiate. Further, India’s aligning interests with the US in the wake of deteriorating Sino-US relations has only intensified China’s animus against India.

With a reputation for wearing out opponents with its unyielding and implacable concessions during negotiations, Beijing traditionally enfeebled opponent countries. India had been a victim of China’s decades of China’s “deception diplomacy” and subterfuge. Intransigence, reckless violation of agreements and opaque negotiations are integral to Chinese psych-ops. Years of hostility have perhaps sensitised India to China’s grey zone tactics. New Delhi is now determined to hold its ground.

The latest major episode of escalation after the cowardly and brutal Galwan clash emanates from China’s unease with India’s convergence with the US on several issues. On 16, November, India and the US commenced two-week-long, high-altitude military exercises, Yudh Abhyas at Auli, Uttarakhand, as a part of defence cooperation. Around the same time, prioritising infrastructure development, Prime Minister visited Arunachal Pradesh and inaugurated the first international airport, Donyi Polo Airport in Itanagar. In an attempt to challenge India, China held the first China-Indian Ocean Regional Forum meeting on November 21, 2022, with 19 countries in the region. India was not invited to the meeting.

Previous political dispensation grossly neglected the border infrastructure development premised on a ludicrous logic of connectivity abetting Chinese incursions. Making for decades of neglect the current regime has expedited the border projects. This enhancement of logistics and infrastructure is deemed by China as a threat. Determined to intimidate India, Beijing is accelerating further the border skirmishes, standoffs and incursions along the LAC.

Just days after the conclusion of joint exercises, China made a nasty incursion into Arunachal Pradesh’s Yangtse on 9, December, 2022. Ever since China has intensified its muscular attacks against India directly and indirectly. China engaged with Bhutan through the 11^th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on China-Bhutan Border issues. Indeed, China’s intimidation and pressure tactics made Bhutan King visit India to assuage India’s concerns.

In February 2023, India approved the Border Village Programme to develop 46 border villages in four states including Arunachal Pradesh and raising of seven new battalions of ITBP to plug gaps. Shortly, Indian and Chinese representatives for the first time in three years held an in-person 26^th Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) where no perceptible progress was made. Both sides reviewed the situation along the LAC and discussed proposals for disengagement in two areas.

As part of the G20 presidency, India held a meeting in Arunachal Pradesh on March 25-26 which China attended virtually to express its disapproval. A week after the meeting, as a part of lawfare, miffed China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs released “invented 11 names” for the locations in Arunachal Pradesh, a third such list to date. To connivingly establish territorial jurisdiction, as a measure of protest, post-Dalai Lama’s visit to the state, China for the first time, released six new names for regions in Arunachal Pradesh in April 2017 and a second batch of 11 names in December 2021 just before China’s Land Border Law came into effect⁵.

A day after China released the third set of names for Arunachal Pradesh, China announced the upgradation of two Tibetan counties along the eastern sections of the LAC to city status to facilitate more migration and rapid investments into those regions. Additionally, these counties are put under the direct administration of the regional government of Lhasa.

One of the places Milin has an airport, linked to the capital Lhasa through rail and lies along the highway connecting Tibet to Xinjiang.  Another county, Cuona is South West of the Bhutan border and is located in the strategic Tawang sector. As per records, a part of Milin City and two-thirds of Cuona City are in India-controlled region⁶. The upgrade and assertion of sovereignty are part of the dubious game, China always plays against its opponent.

Attributing India’s border infrastructure development as provocations and belligerences, China is indiscriminately violating the bilateral border agreement and mischievously altering the border regions similar to the construction of Sansha City in the South China Sea. Beijing is replicating the same in Arunachal Pradesh.

Defending its escalatory measures as a bid to guard against India’s “capriciousness”⁷, China has ramped up surveillance infrastructure on the Coco Islands, frozen visas of Indian journalists, Beijing has renamed nine places in Indian Ocean Region⁸ and sullied the Dalai Lama through a contorted video.

Since the 2020’s China’s stealthy incursions, India has hardened its stance on the inviolable issue of “restoring pre-2020 status” at the LAC. Preparing for a long-haul New Delhi is steadily fortifying its defences along the LAC, ratcheting up infrastructure development and expediting the border projects. Alongside, India is getting ready for numerous rounds of meetings that hardly make any headway. India has now learnt that patience is the only mantra with China.

China’s cryptic pacifist posturing is a mere headline grabber. Thus far, China’s pacifist posturing has always been patently accompanied by territorial incursions have paradoxically ensured India would never slip into complacency.

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