Cracks in dragon

By Dr. Mohan Bhandari  Published on  23 Aug 2020 4:35 AM GMT
Cracks in dragon

Hyderabad: Right from the days of yore, Nation States have called upon their soldiers to defend their Supreme National Interests & even go to war, should all diplomatic efforts fail. Consequent to the development of newer & state - of - the art weapon systems, nations today became aware of a need to prevent unnecessary destruction & collateral damage to lives & property on/near the battle zones. This need is a reflection of both - military interests & the moral values of civilized persons. Thus, customs & formal laws of war were evolved; these were embodied in the Geneva Conventions & Hague Regulations. These laws of war are legally binding upon virtually all governments & their forces. These also reinforce the unwritten laws that are accepted as a custom for centuries in combat.

Dragon believes itself as the ‘soi-disant’ domineering & authority on all international affairs especially so in the Asian Sub-continent. It projects expansionist designs using the dictum ‘might is right’. It not only believes but practices that all issues should be settled by either show of force or by its use. She has amply demonstrated this in its dealings with neighboring states-India herself being the worst sufferer. China does not consider the idea of an international community deciding its problems. This arrogant & ethnocentric behavioral attitude has become part of its ‘persona’- having suffered humiliation for the past 350 years from the Western World.

International Law as per Dragon is its ‘convenience’ & is based on ‘preconceived political requirements’. The Chinese have been selective in their approach in dealing with matters connected with International Law. This is the reason as to why they are distrustful, deceitful, unreliable, irrational & illogical. It is an accepted fact that any international treaty affords a persuasive proof to the existence & location of a boundary between any two states. The validity of 1684, 1842, Simla Convention 1914 & 1954 Sino-Indian Treaty on Trade & Intercourse- all these have been denied by China on contradictory & inconsistent grounds. Dragon argues that all treaties & arguments prior to Peoples Revolution were concluded by a weak government in power & hence it has disassociated itself from these. This is absurd & ridiculous because as per this analogy, International Law could never remain secure as a mere change in the government would make all treaties and agreements null & void. This is yet another facet of a peculiar, unreasonable & dogmatic China!

With the above as a backdrop, let us examine as to why China had to violate the ‘Peace & Tranquility Agreement of 1993’ May this year by transgressing into Eastern Ladakh & also deploy PLA in the Central & Eastern Sectors of the Sino-Indian Border. Reports of China having deployed a battalion worth near Taklakot (Lipulekh Area, Tri Junction India, China & Nepal opposite Uttarakhand) has also been received.

As per strategic evaluation, it is now abundantly clear that all is not good within the Chinese Communist Party (CPC). Moreover, serious differences are reported to have cropped up between the PLA High Command & the CPC. Xi Jinping stands accused of’ ‘Killing his Party & A Country’ with his critics facing retribution. The CPC is involved in serious corruption cases & a finger is also being pointed towards the all too powerful Xi, who himself is said to have been involved in corruption rackets. Xi is also being squarely blamed by some of the insiders for having hidden the truth of the spread of the Corona epidemic from his countrymen & the entire world.

It is now openly being said that Xi just wants to consolidate his own position & authority & remain all too powerful. Thus he has successfully diverted the attention of the Chinese public from domestic, economic & social issues/tensions by starting a border problem with India. Some 460,000 Chinese Firms closed down in the first quarter having stopped production in China. Also, registration of new firms fell almost 30 percent from a year earlier.

Now comes into discussion the devious, hegemonistic & the untrustworthy face of Dragon. A couple of days back, the Chinese Government Analysis has talked of Xi Jinping’s ‘Doctrine of Properly Handling of Border Dispute’. It goes on to say by using words like ‘Maintaining Chinese Territorial Integrity, ‘Major Country Diplomacy’-but keeping totally mum about the ongoing stalemate in the troop disengagement process in Eastern Ladakh & the ongoing friction between both countries! In an analysis of “Xi Jinping on Governance & Politics”, the Chinese Ministry indicated that maintaining peace & tranquility along the boundary with India is as important as stabilizing the maritime situation in the South China Sea where Beijing is entangled with multiple littoral states over the ownership of islands, reefs & the surrounding seas. All this is Dragon’s master obfuscation & nothing else. On one hand, China issues such statements in the public domain, on the other, it is reliably learnt that new weapon systems are being tested in areas close to LAC IN Tibet at heights above 14,000 Ft.

India has rightly rejected China’s contention that disengagement has been completed at most of the locations along the LAC. India has repeatedly asked Dragon to be sincere enough to deescalate. The Depsang Plains, Gogra Heights, Galwan Valley & Pangong Tso are mere symptoms of the bigger malaise & sinister design of things that Xi Jinping is currently involved to save his position; even serious cracks between PLA Top Brass & CPC are being reported. The entire world stands antagonized by the Dragon & is appreciative of the tough stand taken by India & rightly so.

In the Ladakh Region, after another 3 months, snow would start falling & temperatures would go down substantially. India shall have to stay deployed firmly until status quo ante is restored even if it means the tremendous financial burden on the national exchequer by catering for the enormous requirement of arms, guns, ammunition, accouterment, food & administrative infrastructure to cater for the needs of about 30,000 personnel spread across 300 KMs. Also, a similar requirement shall be cropping up in the Central & Eastern Sectors.

It is good that a group of senior lawmakers from eight democracies including the US have launched a new cross-parliamentary alliance to help counter the growing threat Dragon poses to global security, trade & human rights with particular reference to Hong Kong & Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang Province. This tribe of people is increasing day by day.

“THE TIME HAS COME FOR DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES TO UNITE IN A COMMON DEFENCE OF OUR SHARED VALUES” said Smith, the UK Lawmaker, on Twitter.

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