From 1958-62 the Indian military encircled Chinese soldiers on top of some of the tallest mountains in the world and forced them to give way. Many Chinese soldiers died, without resisting. Nehru’s policy was to occupy “watershed” points so that when the boundary was settled, India would get the choicest slopes. He made one small error: China, after warning India many times, counter-attacked in October 1962. Nehru was morally, and then physically, decimated.
It took India more than 50 years to restore its relations with China to an even keel. It started talking to the Chinese. It started promoting trade and investment. There were bilateral visits. Indian scholars went to China to study the language and culture. And yet, on June 18, 2017 India, in a moment of madness, crossed the international border and entered Chinese territory, setting back the bilateral relationship by decades. China, betrayed by this sudden incursion, has reacted with some of the strongest language. However, it has restrained itself, so far, from taking military action.
The Indian incursion is illegal. The Sino-Indian border, runs along thousands of kilometers. Some parts of it have been delineated, but most of it has not been demarcated. The infamous,so-called McMahon line was delineated (not demarcated) by the British. China refused to accept it so it is irrelevant. China can never accept the McMahon line because if it accepts it then it would imply that Tibet was independent in 1913. The wily Dalai Lama knows this and implores India to declare Tibet’s independence. For the record, not a single country in the world acknowledges Tibet as independent. It never was.
Contrary to most of the Sino-Indian border being neither delineated nor demarcated, the 220 km border between China and India in the Sikkim sector which Indian troops crossed on June 18 was clearly demarcated in 1890 and has been respected by all the parties ever since. India has clearly broken international law here.
India’s current aggression is almost as unwise as Nehru’s ruinous China policy. Nehru also ruined India’s economy, but that I will discuss later. Once the Chinese reacted and pushed Indian forces back till Assam in one of the most amazing episodes in military history, Nehru resorted to plain lies. He misinformed the Indian public that China had invaded an “innocent” India. It has taken world-renowned researchers decades to expose this blatant lie. But some naïve Indians, egged on by self-promoting political and journalist hawks, still think they should win a war against China to level the score. If this is not lunacy, then what is!
Even more ludicrously, Indian politicians are clamoring that Indians should not buy Chinese goods. To begin with, China’s exports to India account for 2% of China’s total exports to the world. More importantly, if Chinese investment in Indian factories halts, it will impair the Indian economy drastically. It will also hurt the Indian consumer who will have to buy much more expensive products of the same quality.
The era of ‘backyards’ is vanishing very fast, and is being replaced by the more enlightened notions of economic and social development based on multilateral relationships
Indian aggression is also destabilizing South Asia and reinforcing India’s image as a regional hegemon, thus undermining the very objective India wants to achieve – establish mutually beneficial relations with Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The era of “backyards” is vanishing very fast, and is being replaced by the more enlightened notions of economic and social development based on multilateral relationships. China’s OBOR is for any country which wishes to add value to all and thus to its own economy.
Importantly, India’s aggression in Doklam undercuts its attempt to win a United Nation’s Security Council’s permanent seat. For one, UNSC is all about respecting international law. It is also all about shielding smaller countries from the temporary wrath or long-term enmity of its larger and avaricious neighbours. If India cannot assume moral leadership within its own vicinity, how can it be given charge of the much larger global arena?
Finally, India’s Doklam aggression is dangerous. China had unsettled borders with some 14 countries in 1948. How did it convert these borders into demarcated boundaries? There are only two ways you do it. The first one is what some countries resorted to in the past, by using force. Unfortunately, the forced settlement rankles with the victim. The other is what China used with 12 of the 14 country: Inviting them to sit down, and discuss, and bilaterally agree. If push comes to shove, India will get it a second time.
But there is still time. There are some sane voices within India imploring Prime Minister Modi to undo the damage by pulling out. China is right now busy with preparations for the 19th Party Congress and for the forthcoming BRICS meeting. It is also going through a serious overhaul of its armed forces structure. This gives India the time and space to back off and to restore status quo ante. India needs friends right now to advise it to stop playing with fire.
Actually, India needs more of a Gandhi than a Nehru right now.
The writer has served in China as a Pakistani diplomat
Published in Daily Times, August 27th 2017.