In repeatedly threatening New Delhi over the standoff at the disputed Doklam “tri-junction” between Bhutan, India and China, the latter and its media appear to be playing mind games in an attempt to unsettle India.
China’s foreign ministry has warned of a full-scale conflict if India does not withdraw its troops from Doklam, while an article in the Global Times said a long, all-out confrontation awaits along the entire Line of Actual Control if India continues to plays politics on the border.
Chinese military’s mouthpiece PLA Daily reported that the army moved significant armory to a region south of the Kunlun Mountains in northern Tibet last month. And over the weekend, China’s state-run CCTV broadcast People’s Liberation Army troops taking part in live-fire exercises using high-tech weaponry on the Tibetan plateau not far from the disputed Dokalam area.
India, meanwhile, has played down the Chinese threat and expressed hope for an early solution to the one-month-old standoff.
India’s foreign secretary S Jaishankar told a parliamentary panel in Delhi on Tuesday that talks are going on at various levels to cool tempers. China’s aggression and rhetoric are unusual but everything will be sorted out, he said.
Chinese media dismissed a report on a Pakistani news channel that 58 Indian soldiers had been killed in a Chinese rocket attack across the border. Beijing’s rejection of this “malicious propaganda’ indicates it does not favor war with India
Explaining the standoff, Jaishankar said that since India has special ties with Bhutan, it had blocked China’s road construction at Doklam when Thimpu sought its help to do so on June 16.
China appears to have held briefings with foreign missions on the standoff. For its part, India, for the first time, discussed the incident with visiting Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Bishop expressed hope that any escalation does not lead to miscalculation or misjudgment from either side.
While raising the degree of hostility on the one hand, Chinese media also dismissed a report on a Pakistani news channel that 58 Indian soldiers had been killed in a Chinese rocket attack across the border. Beijing’s rejection of this “malicious propaganda’ indicates it does not favor war with India.
India too is treading carefully around issues that impinge on China’s integrity.
Mamata’s allegations
India’s federal government has sought evidence from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after she claimed that China is playing a role in the ongoing unrest by majority Nepalis in the hills of Darjeeling for a separate state called Gorkhaland.
According to Mamata, if Gorkhaland is granted, India’s strategic Siliguri Corridor, which runs close to Nepal and China, may be vulnerable because of the threat from Nepali Maoists who back China. The question is, then, will Nepalis – who have been living in Darjeeling’s hills for generations – remain loyal to India after getting Gorkhaland, or will statehood embolden them to launch separatist movements, as in Kashmir.
Mamata’s party says it has obtained proof of Chinese meddling in Darjeeling.
For India, Chinese road construction at Doklam is a security threat as it will give the People’s Liberation Army access to Jampheri Ridge and to the Siliguri Corridor, which connects eastern states to the rest of India.
Bhutan, sandwiched between the two Asian giants, does not have diplomatic ties with China and several rounds of talks between the two over disputed territories have failed.
Indian troops are positioned on a stretch of land disputed between China and Bhutan. The longer the standoff continues, the greater the risk of a conflict between India and China becomes. The best way forward for both countries is to avoid that by quietly withdrawing their troops from Doklam.
A meeting of BRICS national security advisers later this month in China will provide an opportunity for resolving the standoff.
China does not want a border war.
India should not want a border war,
The only one that want India to war with China is USA. Unfortunately CIA money has bought over Indian rats like this author who sacrifices India’s interests to line their own pockets.
Nevertheless there is hope that Modi will resist the calls of such rats and stop provoking China.
LOL. China is not playing mind games, India is playing it all on herself LMAO. From the original 1962 war that started the whole mess, to decades of all sorts of anti China – China threat theories buzzing around in Indian media "free" press brainwashing herself, to the creation of the very corridor India is so afraid of losing, its all done by India or other circumstances involving India without China having to lift a finger. Meanwhile everyone around India suffers because of this self-made India insecurity. Afraid of that Submarine visit to Sir Lanka port? Well had India not been enclosed in such self-induced paranoia unable to get her act together to properly manage relations with China for decades, those submarines would probably had been paying friendly visits to India ports (and maybe jointly build with China, too)!
Well the window to properly addressing India-China relations is certainly closing. Generations of media brainwashing have produced emotionally twisted hardliners first in India and of course, with each escalation, will be eventually be created in China. At this stage, unlss there’s a concrete united effort both politically, academically, and in media itself to undo decades of misconstruction, the general trajectory of the relationship is already fixed regardless of what little temporary fix is applied.
Of course, India can choose to throw in the lot with US etc to play a balancing game, and subject its fate to the ebb and flow of other country’s interests and what China will do in response. Good luck.
IF USA says it is okay for them if India joins NSG but china says it is not okay whom should India trust,what is so special about chinese concerns which USA ignored for admitting India to NSG.Secondly if you use Mcmohan line to solve border with Myanmar but with India you say it is not okay why would Indian public believe in china.Where has china shown flexibility even in trade it has collected 500 billion surplus transfer last decade…..
True, it is a psychological warfare by China. The threats are aimed at confusing India. China’s attempt to build the road was to provoke India and test its resolve in safeguarding the border. Both sides should end the standoff and try to resolve all border issues through talks.
Vijay Raghavan India should sign the NPT and USA should advise India to do so too.
Other nations besides China also object to India joining the NSG for this very reason.
This is another CIA ploy to stir up tensions and a shame on Obama. How can a president sink so low and show a lack of dignity to be part of such dirty little tricks. No wonder the rest of the world laughs at and has contempt for USA! .
Ken Nguyen Obama was a puppet put up by the 1% rich to further their exceptionists world order. In his 8 years reign he started two wars killing ten of thousand of innocent civilian and he was given the ibnoble peace prize.
India is playing cool to China’s threats. It may have a game plan. Plan A may be intense diplomacy. Plan B may be to stay put at the tri-junction until China agrees to mutual pull-out. India and China don’t want a war. China never expected resistance at the junction. Now it is a question of prestige for China. Hence this muscle-flexing.
‘According to Mamata, if Gorkhaland is granted, India’s strategic Siliguri Corridor, which runs close to Nepal and China, may be vulnerable because of the threat from Nepali Maoists who back China’ [sic]
The Nepalese know all about Indian shenanigans.
Who killed their beloved king Birendra,
Who used Maoists to topple the century old mornarchy,
Who ousted prez Oli in 2015,
Who are behind the Terai unrest,
Who orchestrated the blockade at the border….
Every Nepalese and his cat knows it.
Ken Nguyen india has developed nuclear capability on its own and has never supplied knowledge to rouge natiosn like pakistan.China has committed a mistake by supplying nuclear know how to pakistan and now you are claiming that one has to sign NPT? This is double standards. If China continues its current behavior,,it is bad for the entire world.China should start behaving responsibly
Only the Soldiers will come to war …if at all it happens..Rest assured that the world will end when there is a war, which will include both China and india 🙁
It is absolute nonsense that nations fight over borders and territories in this age of technolgy….Silly Colonial Mindset is back…and i reject it from where ever it comes. Respect,Courage,Openness,Transparency,Commitment is all what it takes nations to co-exist not boundaries and borders…when will our leaders both from China and India realize this. It is shame that we call ourselves humans and fight over borders…Disgusting
china wants to use Pakistand occupied kashmir , which is a inalienable part of India. and no one here others and blames india.SHAME on you China…With Power comes responsibility start eing responsible before teaching others. India has been Teacher for Chinese in that past look at your past There is Thousand sof years of history between china and India …which was very positive mutually useful and helpful…recognize that. later decide what happens,In Todays world every one who goes to war loses.if you wish to lose let us go to war
Uncle Sam have flooded India with $$$ and weapons so that India would be ready for another bloody war with China. Go India, Go India. We backed you up.
India should be busy building her own people toilets and clean up the holy rivers.
Chinese media’s description of India as aggressor is wrong. China is quoting a 1890 deal to defend its border claims. India too is bound by a treaty to defend Bhutan. If possession means ownership, Dhoklam belongs to China. But that is not how border disputes are solved. As a big power, China is least bothered about how its expansionist agenda affects its neighbors. China is a big country. It should think big.
Vijay Raghavan , According to what I read a while back – I don’t know the truth of it that NSG was originally created by USA to block India.
The truth of the matter is everyone has to play by the rule, all members of NSG had signed into NPT. Why should India have the privileged to skirt the rules. All India has to do is sign in like all members did instead of kicking and screaming like a spoiled brat not getting his way and blaming China.
Dokham could be a Gordian Knot to resolve at BRICS meeting between Sino-Indian realtions!
What right India has in a border between Bhutan and China.
India has the audacity to tell China how to solve its border problem with China – you are unreal and out of this world.
Bhutan is an independent sovereign state and doean’t need India’s interference in its internal or external affairs. And India interfers in every aspect of Bhutanese life and you accused China of been expansionist and you have gobbled up Sikkim and independent kingdom.
Would India like the Chinese army to march into Indian side of the Bhutan-India border and and do likewise or how about in Nepal can China do the same? Think India.
Too much hot curry is burning up your brains.
Zheng He I agree…..however don’t u think NPT is against UN charter of treating all humans/countries equally….what china is telling India is you follow communist system which is only communist members can be cabinet ministers & all others cannot become one like it is in china…china does not have universal values like the sun which does not discriminate in giving its sunshine whether you are stationed in Arunachal pradesh or in china occupied tibet
Ken Nguyen My point is china should not have signed for NPT,it should have taken a stand all Nations are equal…by signing that treaty it also perpetuated discriminatory system….according to me it was a missed opportunity for china don’t you think so.
Also on the other thing on border issue it should have applied principles of consistency either it accepts Mcmohan line or it rejects mcmohan line….it should not have followed a system show me the face i will tell you the rules like one for burmese another for Indian
In last 10 years the way the Chinese were behaving this was always coming. Lets look at the recent past 1 year. China blocked India’s entry into NSG, blocked Mazhar asod’s labelling as international terrorist, openly supporting Pakistan. This incident was inevitable. Unlike other countries in East Asia, there is one major difference for China in this conflict and that is the nukes India posses. India has invested heavily in the delivery systems and this is not a showpiece for its republic day parade. India will have to use it in the full scale war scenario and its is a open known fact that China has more wealth and better industry that what India posses at the moment. So in a nuclear Armageddon China has more to lose. It just takes one leader with the same thinking for the general public’s nightmare to be real. This is how serious and worried China should be too for a resolution, not just India, Mr well paid author of this article.