Even the then PM Manmohan Singh had come to know about this attitude of Jinping in March 2013. Jinping arrived for the first time as the President of China at the BRICS Summit in Durban. Jinping did not show warmth in his meeting with the Prime Minister of India. At that time the armies of India and China were face to face in Depsang. China, under the patronage of Jinping, sees India as a ‘permanent enemy’, it was clear.
China repeatedly encroaches on the border
The very next month, China blocked Indian patrolling from points 10 to 13 at Daulat Beg Oldie. The right of patrolling was restored in 2014-15 but in May 2020 the Chinese army again blocked it. Then the Chinese army started encroaching on Galvan, Khurang Nala, Gogra-Hot Springs and Pangong Tso. The issue of patrolling in Depsang is unresolved till date. PLA says it is a 2013 issue. This is the line China has held regarding Demchok’s Charding Nilung Nala (CNN).
In September 2014, PM Modi invited Jinping to his home state Gujarat. At the same time PLA made encroachments in Demchok and Chumar area. There was a prolonged stand-off with the Indian Army. According to the HT report, military commanders say that PLA had blocked patrolling rights once in 2005-07 as well, in September 2014 PLA tightened its stand regarding CNN junction. Even today the Indian Army has not got the right of patrolling at CNN Junction.
Dragon considers India as ‘permanent enemy’
The PLA gathered around 50,000 soldiers in eastern Ladakh. Deployed rockets, cannons and tanks. PM Modi is aware of the seriousness of the matter and that is why he seeks clarification on the situation in every meeting with Jinping. But Jinping ignores it. In his view, it is a waste of his time. In such a situation, China’s assertion that bilateral relations should not be held hostage to border disputes is laughable. China has kept a sense of enmity towards India on almost every front. Several such examples have come to the fore in recent years:
- In 2016, China blocked India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). He wanted to make his pawn Pakistan equal to India. China provided nuclear missile technology to Pakistan through North Korea in the nineties.
- China repeatedly obstructed the banning of terrorists in the United Nations. Masood Azhar, Rauf Asghar, Sajjad Mir… there is a long list of such terrorists whose hems are red with the blood of thousands of people, but China saved them.
- China helped Pakistan’s Deep State a lot so that it could declare Indian engineers working in Afghanistan before Taliban as Global Terrorists. India was able to thwart these moves because of allies like America and France.
- In August 2019, India amended Article 370 and removed Article 35A. China opposed the new map showing the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and called it a disputed area. China tried to bring a resolution against it in UNSC.
- In 2017, at the behest of Jinping, the PLA transgressed at Doklam, the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction. This posed a threat to India’s Siliguri Corridor. Had the army not taken immediate action, the PLA could have established dominance over the entire Siliguri corridor.
China has tried to suppress India at every opportunity. China stands against every move that establishes India as a major player in the world. There is a world of difference between what China’s leadership says and what happens on the ground. China, which failed to suppress India on the border, is now adopting the diplomatic route. India should be prepared to compete with China on all fronts while increasing its military capability.