Stay alert over China

Earlier this week, China upped the ante in dealing with Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims as South Tibet. It renamed six towns in the northeastern state to back its claim, which is fundamentally false and flawed as it has no historical underpinning. The people of Arunachal Pradesh follow the same style of Buddhism that is practised in Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim and Ladakh in India. The religious basis can therefore be no consideration for Beijing’s bid to covet Indian territory. In this context, China’s strenuous objection to the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh appears to have a fairly clear political aim — to make a pincer with Pakistan in harassing New Delhi.

To rebuff this move, it is not enough for India to say that giving cooked-up Chinese/Tibetan names to towns in India made no sense. New Delhi needs to remain cognisant, however, that the recent Chinese moves on Arunachal and Pakistan’s actions in Kashmir through fifth columnists at about the same time are no coincidence. India can have no interest in China’s premier policy of OBOR to strengthen its neighbourhood influence, specially as projects are being executed in parts of Jammu and Kashmir under illegal Pakistani control. An Indian representative attending a China-hosted conference on OBOR will thus invite ridicule. India should instead bolster its border defences.