July 11, 2020
Global Times says U.S. is using India as cannon fodder for its anti-China strategy
By Abdus-Sattar Ghazali
The Chinese Community Party newspaper, the Global Times (GT) says that the United States is using India as cannon fodder for its strategy to contain China.
China-US relations are facing unprecedented challenges, but the current US government doesn't show any sign to turn for the better, Mu Lu of the Global Times said Wednesday adding:
"The US is likely to make full use of India regardless of what India will suffer as a result, as long as it can hinder China's pace of development. But this time, India would not get what it wants if it supports US attempts to disrupt China-India ties."
Writing under the title - India would not get what it wants from US attempts to disrupt China ties - Mu Lu said:
"In the weeks following the border clash between China and India, senior military officials from the two countries have been engaged in talks on how to ease the tensions. After a Sunday night (July 5) telephone conversation between Chinese Special Representative on the China-India Boundary Question, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the two sides reached a consensus on de-escalating border tensions. Both sides have already taken practical moves to show their sincerity.
"However, at this crucial juncture, the US - a country that is reluctant to see a peaceful and stable world - stepped forward to sow discord again. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that China was "incredibly aggressive" in the latest border clash and praised Indians for doing "their best to respond to that."
"A peaceful and stable border is obviously consistent with the interests of both China and India. But when the two Asian countries are striving for it, the US has been instigating disputes between them by deceiving the Indian people."
The administration of Narendra Modi is aware that sound China-India ties, rather than tense ones, are much more beneficial to India, Mu Lu argued and said: "Therefore, no matter how tough India is to China, India is unlikely to deviate from meeting China half way. After all, either boycotting China or trying to cut off economic links with China will probably result in huge losses to India."
But Washington has been pretending to be ignorant of these realities. It is pushing India into the vast abyss, while simultaneously disguising itself as a loyal friend of India's, the Global Times concluded.
Delhi should beware of US instigation: experts
Tellingly, in another report on India-China border dispute, the Global Times Wednesday quoted experts as saying that some Indian politicians and military officials, encouraged by the US, were reluctant to ease border tensions, and there have been signs of the Indian army provoking small conflicts recently.
A Bloomberg report, citing an Indian official, said on Wednesday that "The Indian military is preparing to position additional troops and equipment through the harsh winter and closely monitor Chinese troop movements."
But India should not be fooled by US tricks. The US could only pay lip service to India and is unlikely to offer any concrete financial or military help, Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.
"India has to understand that it is just a bullet for the US in its containment policy toward China, not even a gun," Lu said.
Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that US provocation on China-India border issues when the border standoff between China and India showed encouraging signs is also a trick that the US plays to divert attention from its domestic failure in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Swaran Singh, a professor and chair of the Center for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US is only helping India because it serves their own interests, as all of this is part of painting China as a villain.
144 Indian Armed Forces veterans demand probe into Galwan Valley encounter killing 20 soldiers
As many as 144 veterans of the Indian Armed Forces have issued a joint statement on the situation at the border with China in Ladakh, drawing attention to failure in the "political, civil and military establishments" that led to the continued swirl of rumors on the issue and the killing of 20 soldiers in fist fighting at strategic Galwan Valley.
The signatories include three Lt. Generals, 13 Major Generals, 19 brigadiers, one Admiral, two Vice Admirals, one Rear Admiral and one Air Vice Marshal.
"The incident at Galwan could only have happened because of failure at one or more levels in the political, civil and military establishments, especially in continuous intelligence acquisition and dissemination," they wrote.
The statement is addressed to the president, the prime minister, defense minister, chief of the defense staff and the chief of the army, air and naval staff.
The statement further read that a fact-finding body needs to be immediately instituted regarding the "intrusions, incursions and encroachments by China" in Aksai Chin (Depsang, Galwan, Pangong Tso etc.), and elsewhere along India's long border with it. "We request that the report of this fact-finding body be tabled in the Lok Sabha with time-bound framework," it said.
The Veterans also strongly urged that the un-redacted Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report concerning the 1962 war against China be released into the public domain, so that the military-bureaucratic-political system and the public can learn from the mistakes of the past. There can be no sensible reason for this Report remaining secret even after 57 years, they added.
The veterans went on to say that India urgently needs a national policy and strategy on neighborhood management, featuring all of India's immediate and more distant neighbors, especially China and Pakistan. "Formulation of such national policy and strategy has been neglected by successive governments," they said.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) Email asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
