China has again drawn world attention, this time too for wrong reasons. After ‘gifting’ the world the lethal coronavirus, it has once again catapulted itself in the forefront of muddy diplomatic waters of the subcontinent by creating waves of tension through reinforcement of its military arsenal along the LAC in Ladakh sector. The situation has now reached levels that might lead to a worse direction and culminate into a full-fledged military confrontation. It will be bewildering even for defence analysts, leave alone the common Indian citizen as to how can a military standoff be conceived and pursued at this calamitous setting when both the nations are chasing a common task of fighting a pandemic, that has thus far remained undefeatable. But that’s what China has always been and for playing its ‘favourite game’, it seldom takes into account the settings, however grave in humanity’s context they might be. History shows that territories that are inappropriately defended or are sparsely populated have been their prime and prized targets. From East Asia to South China Sea to Sino-Indian border to Arunachal Pradesh- even though it’s a growing list, China’s thirst for newer lands seems extraordinarily insatiable. Thus, after placing the running Ladakh episode under these contextual realities, there is nothing to be surprised.
Meanwhile, under a situation when a blind confrontational attitude is exhibited by one side, the other can never remain a mute spectator. As such, India has been compelled to square up its military presence in Uttarakhand and despite several rounds of talks between the local military commanders of both sides, there are no positive signs as yet that the standoff will evaporate so quickly. There is also an added reason for India to worry, since, so far from the ‘drama’ that has been enacted, it’s clear that China is displaying a more aggressive body language compared to the 2017 Doklam trouble that ran for 73 days. Even if it’s difficult to predict the actual number of troops accumulated by China, it can safely be assumed to be in ranges enough to put India into deep military difficulties.
By the way, US President Donald Trump has expressed his deep desire to ‘negotiate’, terming it as a “raging border dispute” obviously with the larger intention of cementing its subcontinent presence. But it’s incomprehensible why India hasn’t directly rejected the ‘offer’ with an emphatic ‘no’ and has only resorted to an oblique denial, since, under diplomatic lenses, the issue is fundamentally a bilateral one.
A big question now is whether the crisis will snowball into the likes of the 1962 war. But, for sure, India mustn’t display no meekness. As because China is a rogue nation, the old saying ‘an eye for an eye…. tooth for a tooth’ will hold relevance.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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