<<Far more significant, however, is the ominous ring about the editorial comment by the Global Times (at sl. no. III below), an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, in the subject context.>>
Things have since turned even more ominous. Now, China has opted to issue an open threat to India, pretty much shorn of diplomatese. <<Defense ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian reiterated China's demand that Indian troops pull back from the Doklam Plateau, an area also claimed by Indian ally Bhutan where Chinese teams had been building a road toward India's border. "China's determination and resolve to safeguard national security and sovereignty is unshakable," Wu said at a news conference to mark the upcoming 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. "***Here, I wish to remind India, do not push your luck and cling to any fantasies*** [emphasis added]," Wu said. "The 90-year history of the PLA has proved but one thing: that our military means to secure our country's sovereignty and territorial integrity has strengthened and our determination has never wavered. It is easier to shake a mountain than to shake the PLA.">> The situation, admittedly, has turned even trickier.] https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-india-must-pull-back-troops-amid-border-043207055.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_11 China warns India of its 'resolve' amid border standoff Associated Press CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated PressJuly 24, 2017 China's defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian speaks during a news conference at the State Council Information Office in Beijing, Monday, July 24, 2017. China is warning India not to underestimate its determination to safeguard what it considers sovereign territory amid an ongoing standoff between the two neighbors over a contested region high in the Himalayas. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday warned India not to "push your luck" by underestimating Beijing's determination to safeguard what it considers sovereign Chinese territory, amid an ongoing standoff between the two neighbors over a contested region high in the Himalayas. Defense ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian reiterated China's demand that Indian troops pull back from the Doklam Plateau, an area also claimed by Indian ally Bhutan where Chinese teams had been building a road toward India's border. "China's determination and resolve to safeguard national security and sovereignty is unshakable," Wu said at a news conference to mark the upcoming 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. "Here, I wish to remind India, do not push your luck and cling to any fantasies," Wu said. "The 90-year history of the PLA has proved but one thing: that our military means to secure our country's sovereignty and territorial integrity has strengthened and our determination has never wavered. It is easier to shake a mountain than to shake the PLA." India has called for both sides to withdraw forces and a negotiated settlement to the standoff that began last month after Chinese troops began working to extend southward the road from Yadong in Tibet. While the sides have exercised restraint thus far, heated rhetoric in both Beijing and New Delhi has raised concern over a renewal of hostilities that resulted in a brief but bloody frontier war between the sides in 1962. The nuclear-armed neighbors share a 3,500-kilometer (2,174-mile) border, much of it contested, and China acts as a key ally and arms supplier for India's archrival, Pakistan. The crisis is expected to be discussed when Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visits Beijing at the end of this week for a security forum under the BRICS group of large developing nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The standoff has been fueled in part by a muscular and increasingly vociferous nationalism among both the Chinese and Indian publics against the background of competition for dominance between the two for influence in Asia. India has felt threatened by the growing presence of China's navy, diplomats and state-backed companies in the Indian Ocean region, while Beijing resents closer relations between New Delhi and Washington. India's decision not to participate in a massive Chinese-funded push to develop infrastructure and transport routes in Asia, known as the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, has also rankled Beijing. Keeping up a weeks-long propaganda assault on New Delhi, official Chinese newspapers on Monday again labeled India's actions on the Doklam Plateau as illegal and threatening to China's security. "Even if the standoff is resolved diplomatically, it has already crippled the bilateral relationship. This will have a long-term impact on Sino-Indian ties," Chinese India scholar Long Xingchun wrote in the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party. END [A discerning reader can hardly miss the striking difference between the presentations (at sl. no. I & II below) of the same speech by the Indian External Affairs Minister in the parliament by two Indian national newspapers. Be it as it may, Swaraj's speech is definitely a climb down, at least partially, as compared to the Rambo-like boast of the Indian CoAS (see, e.g.: < http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/06/08/indian-army-is-fully-ready-for-a-two-and-a-half-front-war-says_a_22131995/>), quite unnecessary at that point of time, as regards India's capabilities to fight a two-and-a-half front war simultaneously, which triggered off an unending round of vituperative verbal exchanges. He'd, quite significantly, later be duly backed up by the India's part-time Defence Minister (see: < http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/not-the-1962-india-anymore-jaitleys-response-to-china/articleshow/59387725.cms >). Far more significant, however, is the ominous ring about the editorial comment by the Global Times (at sl. no. III below), an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, in the subject context.] I/IV. http://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/210717/end-standoff-before-talks-sushma-swaraj.html If China pulls Army, we can talk, says Sushma Swaraj THE ASIAN AGE. Published : Jul 21, 2017, 12:34 am IST Updated : Jul 21, 2017, 6:17 am IST China says diplomatic channels with India unimpeded. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj speaks during the fourth day of Monsoon Session of Parliament. (Photo: Twitter | ANI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj speaks during the fourth day of Monsoon Session of Parliament. (Photo: Twitter | ANI) New Delhi/Beijing: India said on Thursday that it is ready for talks with China but that both sides first have to pull back their armies to end the standoff in the Doklam area of Bhutan which China covets. “We are willing to talk, but both sides have to first take back their armies,” external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament. China, meanwhile, said that diplomatic channels with India remained “unimpeded” to discuss the military standoff in Sikkim sector but is insisting that that the withdrawal of the Indian troops from Doklam area is a “precondition” for any meaningful dialogue. Ms Swaraj also told Parliament that China’s attempts to unilaterally change the status of the tri-junction with Bhutan pose a challenge to India’s security. She added that India has the support of all countries as it is legally in the right and that its stand is reasonable. Her ministry later said India would pursue a peaceful resolution of the standoff through diplomatic channels, reiterating its stand that “differences” should not become “disputes”. National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, meanwhile, will visit China on a two-day visit on July 27 and 28 for the BRICS NSA’s meet, the MEA confirmed. Mr Doval is likely to discuss possible options with his Chinese counterpart to resolve the issue on the sidelines of the meet. In Parliament, Ms Swaraj on Thursday said, “India’s position is not wrong on the tri-junction and all nations are with it. The law is with our country.” Ms Swaraj said all countries are supporting India and they understand that the stand taken by India on the issue is not wrong. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters, “Our diplomatic channel is unimpeded,” while confirming talks between Indian and Chinese missions to resolve the standoff. Mr Lu, however, reiterated that “the withdrawal of the Indian border personnel is the precondition for any meaningful dialogue and communication between the two countries”. Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of Bhutan for over a month after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road. II/IV. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/china-to-blame-for-doklam-stand-off-all-nations-with-india-sushma/articleshow/59691312.cms China to blame for Doklam stand-off, all nations with India: Sushma TNN | Updated: Jul 21, 2017, 02:24 AM IST HIGHLIGHTS Sushma Swaraj ruled out unilateral withdrawal of Indian troops as is being insisted on by Beijing. Swaraj said China’s attempt to build a road through Bhutan posed a security challenge to India. "All countries, including Bhutan, are with us," she added Sushma ruled out meeting Beijing’s demand for a pullout of Indian troops as a condition for deescalation on the Doklam plateau.China to blame for Doklam stand-off, all nations with India: Sushma NEW DELHI: Blaming China for trying to change the status of the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction, minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj on Thursday ruled out unilateral withdrawal of Indian troops as is being insisted on by an increasingly belligerent Beijing. Responding to queries during question hour in the Rajya Sabha, Swaraj said China's attempt to build a road through Bhutan posed a security challenge to India. She ruled out meeting Beijing's demand for a pullout of Indian troops as a condition for deescalation on the Doklam plateau. The external affairs minister referred to China's insistence and said: "India wants that all troops are removed from the tri-junction point before discussing the issue together. All countries, including Bhutan, are with us." If, China had any guts, it would have attacked by now, instead of daily barking. But, the most amusing thing is Pakis are entering the fray. Last time it was Bangladesh, this time it will be Baluchis... Read More BM "Their (China's) intention was to reach the tri-junction so that they could unilaterally end the status of the tri-junction. It was only then that India came into the picture. If China unilaterally changes the tri-junction point, then India's security is challenged," she said. The day saw China repeating its demand that India call back its troops as the first step towards resolution of tension. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters that "our diplomatic channel is unimpeded", an indication that the two sides were talking to defuse the crisis. III/IV. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1057440.shtml Military conflicts to escalate if India refuses to withdraw troops Source:Global Times Published: 2017/7/21 15:50:43 Addressing the ongoing border face-off between China and India, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told her country's parliament on Thursday that "all countries are in India's support," and said India is alert to the need to protect its security near "the border where the boundaries of China, India and Bhutan meet," Indian media reported Thursday. She was lying to the parliament. First, India's invasion of Chinese territory is a plain fact. New Delhi's impetuous action stuns the international community. No other country will support India's aggression. Second, India's military strength is far behind that of China. If the conflict between China and India escalates to the intensity where their row has to be resolved through military means, India will surely lose. India should abandon the fantasy of a long-term standoff at Doklam. China will by no means agree to the withdrawal of troops from both sides in order for talks to be held. Doklam is Chinese territory. The withdrawal of Indian troops must be a precondition for talks and China will not compromise on this stance. We notice that India's stance has recently changed subtly and started to stress that Doklam is "a tri-junction area of China, India and Bhutan" and attempts to call for "both sides to withdraw troops" to allow for talks. These changes show New Delhi's guilty conscience. China has reiterated its stance on the issue and shown the utmost tolerance and patience toward India. If Indian troops continue trespassing into China's territory, what Beijing may do next is to get prepared for a military confrontation against New Delhi and resolve the conflict through non-diplomatic means. India should have heard about the news that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed troops near the China-India border and transported materials and supplies to the area. The PLA is also reportedly conducting drills for mountain operations. These are certainly not for show. Now that the PLA has moved in on the China-India border, they will definitely not call back troops unless they recover the Chinese territory. China cannot afford to "lose an inch" of territory. This is the sacred wish and request of the Chinese people. The Chinese government will not breach the fundamental will of the people and the PLA will not let the Chinese people down. If New Delhi remains stubborn, India should get prepared for all possibilities from a potentially grave escalation of tension in the future. The PLA's mobility and logistics capability cannot be matched by that of its Indian counterpart. PLA troops may appear in any area beyond the line of actual control that was previously controlled by India. The China-India border area may become a stage where China showcases the achievement of its long-term military development and reforms. The way some Indians compare China's military strength with that of India at the border is extremely comical. They bragged that India has more troops in the area but they fail to realize that the PLA's strong capability to deploy troops can reverse the balance of power at the border within a day. The PLA's long-range combat capability can also allow its troops in remote area to provide fire support to troops at the border. China's military spending is four times that of India where its GDP volume is five times that of India. The great gap will shape the actual pattern of power balance between the two countries at the border. Back in 1962, India underestimated China's resolution to safeguard its territory. We hope India won't repeat this mistake. India should by no means count on support from the US and Japan because their support is illusory. If India fancies the idea that it has a strategic card to play in the Indian Ocean, it could not be even more naïve. China does hold a lot of cards and can hit India's Achilles' heel, but India has no leverage at all to have a strategic showdown with China. Lastly, we must say that the later India withdraws troops, the greater the risk that it will face from a military counteraction and the more clout it will lose politically. China's military pressure on India will increase every day and India will end up losing face and be totally disgraced. Posted in: EDITORIAL IV. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40653053 Why is the India-China border stand-off escalating? Soutik Biswas India correspondent 20 July 2017 File photo of an Indian and Chinese soldier on the borderImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image caption India and China have a long history of border disputes If you browse through the latest headlines about the now month-long border stand-off between India and China, you might think the Asian rivals are teetering on the brink of an armed conflict. The rhetoric is full of foreboding and menace. A Delhi newspaper says China is warning that the stand-off "could escalate into full-scale conflict". Another echoes a similar sentiment, saying "China stiffens face-off posture". In Beijing, the state-run media has begun reminding India of its defeat in the 1962 war over the border, digging out old reports and pictures of the conflict. Global Times has been particularly bellicose, first accusing India of undermining Bhutan's sovereignty by interfering in the road project, and then declaring that if India "stirs up conflicts in several spots, it must face the consequences of all-out confrontation with China". What's behind the India-China border stand-off? India opens longest bridge on China border The latest row erupted in mid-June when India opposed China's attempt to extend a border road through a plateau known as Doklam in India and Donglang in China. The plateau, which lies at a junction between China, the north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim and the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, is currently disputed between Beijing and Bhutan. India supports Bhutan's claim over it. India is concerned that if the road is completed, it will give China greater access to India's strategically vulnerable "chicken's neck", a 20km (12-mile) wide corridor that links the seven north-eastern states to the Indian mainland. And since this stand-off began, each side has reinforced its troops and called on the other to back down. There is a dreadful sense of deja vu about the way the stand-off appears to be escalating. Indian soldier along China borderImage copyrightAFP Image caption An Indian soldier on the China border - Beijing has reiterated what it says is its right to territory This is not the first time the two neighbours who share a rocky relationship have faced off on the ill-defined border, where minor incursions by troops have been common. The region saw armed clashes between China and India in 1967, and a prolonged stand-off and build-up of troops along the border in Arunachal Pradesh in 1986-87. Delhi believes that Beijing is testing India's commitment to Bhutan in the latest stand-off, writes analyst Ajai Shukla. "China has always been galled by this close relationship, which has withstood sustained Chinese pressure to divide it," he says. This time China has upped the ante against India. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday that Indian forces should leave the area to avoid an "escalation of the situation". 'Not a bluff' Indian analysts believe China's warnings cannot be ignored. "In general, the Chinese pattern of use of force has been to prepare the ground with adequate statements and warnings. Hence, I think we should not take them lightly or see it as a bluff," a China expert told me. In 1962, the state-run news agency Xinhua warned well in advance that India should "pull back from the brink of war". During the Korean War in 1950 which pitted the US and its allies against the USSR, North Korea and communist China, the Chinese warned the US through India that if they crossed the Yalu River the Chinese would be forced to enter the war. To be true, this doesn't mean that China is girding up for war. As things stand, both sides can share some blame for the stand-off in what is a strategically important area. In 2012, India and China agreed that the tri-junction boundaries with Bhutan and Myanmar (also called Burma) would be finally decided in consultation with these countries. Until then, the status quo would prevail. India and China fought a bitter war in 1962Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image caption India and China fought a bitter war in 1962. Photograph: Hulton Archive India believes China violated the status quo by building the road. Indian troops were sent to resist their Chinese counterparts in the area only after Bhutan, which has close ties with India, requested India to help. China insists Indian troops invaded Doklam/Donglang to help Bhutan, and it was a violation of international law. Mr Lu says India should not "take trespass as a policy tool to reach or realise their political targets". Some analysts say India possibly made a mistake by openly conflating the building of the road with talk of potential "serious security implications for India". "I agree that there were security concerns, but it was wrong for India to voice them strongly. We could have just said that China had breached the status quo. By overplaying the security angle, we may have scored an own goal, and the Chinese are exploiting it," an analyst told me. Tricky situation He has a point. Long Xingchun, an analyst at a Chinese think-tank, says "a third country's" army could enter the disputed region of Kashmir at Pakistan's request, using the "same logic" the Indian army has used to stop the Chinese troops from building the road in Doklam/Donglang. "Even if India were requested to defend Bhutan's territory, this could only be limited to its established territory, not the disputed area." Clearly, for the stand-off to end, all three sides need an agreeable solution without losing face. As China hardens its position, many believe that finding a "three-way, face saving solution" would be tricky and time consuming. Relations between the two countries are also at their lowest ebb in many years. Both sides possibly passed up an opportunity to resolve the crisis earlier this month when a potential meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg did not happen. India said a meeting with Mr Xi had never been on Mr Modi's agenda; and China's foreign ministry had said the atmosphere was not right for a meeting. Indian PM Narendra Modi with China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 meeting in Hangzhou on September 4, 2016Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image caption Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping are both in Hamburg for the G20 summit There's another window of opportunity coming up. India's influential National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is to visit Beijing for a meeting of Brics nations later this month. Mr Doval, who is also the special representative for the India-China border, is likely to meet his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. "Both sides have made it a prestige issue. But diplomacy is all about keeping things going in difficult circumstances," a former diplomat says. Despite the deteriorating relationship, a war is unlikely to break out. "I don't think either side wants an armed conflict. Nobody is interested in a war. Nothing in the [stand-off] area is worth a conflict. But both sides see their reputations at stake and that could lead to a prolonged stand-off," Srinath Raghavan, a senior fellow at the leading Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research think-tank told me. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
