New Delhi
14 October 2009
There seems no end to the torrent of anti-India rhetoric from China.
An editorial in Global Times, a sister publication of the Chinese State-controlled People's
Daily, on Wednesday described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal
Pradesh as "a provocative move" and warned of "dangerous consequences".
It read: "The Chinese government and public regard territorial integrity as a core national
interest, one that must be defended with every means .... The disputed border area is of
strategic importance, and hence, India's recent moves -- including [Prime Minister
Manmohan] Singh's trip and approving past visits to the region by the Dalai Lama --
send the wrong signal. That could have dangerous consequences."
The editorial was published the day after Beijing issued a belligerent and provocative
statement, accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of visiting "the disputed region"
despite China's concerns.
Also published in a Global Times article was an online poll conducted by huanqiu.com,
the website of the Global Times' Chinese edition. The poll indicated that an
overwhelmingly majority of users were against Prime Minister Singh's visit to Arunachal
Pradesh.
B Raman, a former additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, said that the Chinese
rhetoric against India should be seen in the context of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the
Dalai Lama's proposed visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh next month. He wrote in an
article published on the website of Chennai Centre for China Studies that Beijing's angry
can be attributed to its insecurity because of the recent violent uprisings by the Tibetans
last year and the Uighurs this year.
Mr Raman thought Beijing's increasing nervousness and feelings of insecurity in its
border areas could lead to "irrational and unpredictable reflexes" vis-a-vis the Arunachal
Pradesh issue, but China is most likely to restrict itself to angry rhetoric and it will not
indulge in any ground action in the Arunachal Pradesh area. However, he cautioned that
the period before and after the visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to
Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh "should call for extra vigilance from our side[.]"
"We should not advise His Holiness not to visit Tawang. When he visits Tawang, we
should pay close attention to his personal security. The period before and after the visit
of His Holiness to Tawang should call for extra vigilance from our side. China may not
indulge in any ground action till the visit of US President Barack Obama to China next
month is over. What it might do after Obama's visit is a matter which needs close
monitoring," Mr Raman said.
It is not the first time Global Times has spewed vitriol against India. In June, it published
an editorial, entitled "India's unwise military moves". That editorial said that China won't
make any compromises in its border disputes with India, and India's current course of
military deployments can only lead to a rivalry between the two countries.
On August 8, an article was posted on a prominent Chinese think tanks' website under
the caption: "If China takes a little action, the so-called Great Indian Federation can be
broken up." The article under the pseudonym of Zhan Lue (or strategy) said that China
should back aspirations of Tamils, Nagas, Assamese and Kashmiris for their respective
independent states, like in Europe. The premise being that India, with the exception of
the predominantly Hindu and Hindi heartland, did not exist as a nation in history.
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