The situation on the China border is a matter of concern. The Dragon is refusing to move back from territory it grabbed recently. This was the import of the official statement last week by the Indian Army. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s address to the troops in Ladakh and subsequent statements too conveyed the same message. We reiterate that the Chinese perfidy poses the biggest challenge to Modi since he became prime minister in May 2014. Any attempt to push the Chinese aggression on the backburner would fail. India has to catch the Chinese bull by its horns. A self-respecting nation has no other option. Failure to do so would demoralise the nation. Besides, it would diminish India’s standing in the world just when its voice was beginning to be heard in global capitals. We may be a lesser military and economic power but as an independent sovereign nation we cannot countenance an attack on our national honour. It is not a question of a few square miles of barren territory in a godforsaken place far removed even from the imagination of ordinary people, as a shattered Nehru had argued after the Chinese had walked in right up to Tezpur — and most infamously he were to subsequently cry on All India Radio that ‘my heart goes to the people of Assam.’ Forcing the aggressor to retreat is national duty. How we see ourselves, and importantly, how the world sees us, would crucially depend how we secure our territorial integrity. Otherwise, there will be no stopping China from repeating its heinous act again and again. Unfortunately, the signs are not encouraging.
We have shown a loss of nerve. The initial response was to keep a tight lid on the aggression. Uncharacteristically, the prime minister exposed a weak hand, telling the Opposition that ‘no one entered Indian territory nor any army posts were taken over…’ Subsequent clarification failed to undo the damage. People understand it is not easy to dislodge the aggressor. If it was, we would have delivered on the unanimous commitment of Parliament after the 1962 debacle to ‘recover every inch of lost territory’. However, the nation expects the present government to do all in its power to foil the land grab. The armed forces are capable of undertaking strategic action at locations of their choosing. China is paranoid about disruption in the Tibet-Xinjiang road since non-Han people dominate both regions. It further secured that vital road through its latest actions. But their motive is not the issue. What matters is our ability to vacate the aggression. Fear of a costly military action should not deter us from defending our territory. Of course, before military action, we need to exhaust all other options. But we cannot run away from the military option, an option of last resort, all right. Before contemplating military option, we need to enlist the support of the democratic world. In the post-ideological era, national self-interest alone shapes the global order. The US is aware that China threatens to replace it as a super power. The democratic world looks up to it to stop a power-drunk China from rampaging through recklessly against the established order. The South China Sea, the Indo-Pacific, its neighbouring countries, etc., are all ill at ease with China’s expansionism. A loose US-led global alliance to defend territorial and maritime sovereignty of all member-States as per the accepted norms and international treaties ought to be embraced by India.
No longer should India hesitate to participate in the joint military exercises with other members of the Quad, namely, the US, Australia and Japan. It should patrol the Indo-Pacific and join others in defending the freedom of navigation in international waters in the South China Sea. And, of course, it too should add its own voice to the global condemnation of the Chinese usurpation of Hong Kong. Even on Taiwan and Tibet it needs to take a neutral stance, instead of parroting the Chinese line. China ignored Indian sensibilities when it openly abets Pakistan in its terrorist operations. India being mindful of the Chinese sensibilities defies commonsense. The truth is that India’s policy towards China has all along been marked by an inferiority complex, by a sense of defensiveness. The 1962 defeat has not stopped contaminating official thinking. Extending the hand of friendship in the expectation that China would not bite it was a mistake. We should have no doubt that an expansionist China is a threat to global peace. To stop its evil, we should openly forge alliances, including security alliances with the democratic world.
