A few weeks earlier, India had objected sternly when the news of Chinese ship calling on Hambantota port, which has been built by the Chinese, incidentally. Not only is China increasingly occupying Indian territory, bit by bit, over the years, but it is also able to use India’s neighbourhood, especially in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean regularly, using countries like Sri Lanka and Maldives. Though the USA and its allies know very well that India is clearly unable to push China out singlehandedly, but they have steered clear of the issue.
While the US allies in East Asia like Japan, Taiwan or South Korea and even Australia have only felt threatened by Chinese missiles, boats or jets, prowling close to their territories, India has actually been witnessing a rising Chinese invasion, incremental through small incursions here or there across the 3,500-km long border that the two Asian giants share. India has been one of the most vocal members of numerous US-led alignments, directed against China, in the Indo-Pacific region, however India has had hardly anything to gain from having joined these alphabet soups like Quad. And this for historically-proven reasons as Russia or earlier the Soviet Union has been the sole global power to consistently stand with India almost right through the 75 years of its independence and while Vladimir Putin may not be the easiest or most predictable of Russian leaders to deal with, India has all the reasons not to put all its eggs in the western basket, which has time and again proven to be a good weather friend and one who would never hesitate to push its own ‘allies’ over ledge, should the situation so demand.Īlready, the past eight years have been one where India has been reduced to a proxy for the United States in its various battles – economic, political and strategic – especially against China and with very little to show for. But the fact that in both the cases, the Western nations involved, have taken that particular stance and made those utterances could also equally have been part of an orchestrated strategy by the West to convey to India its rising impatience with the Indian ‘failure’ to join in the United States-led coalition against Russia, at least in the forum of United Nations, if not on the battlefield.Įver since the Russian invasion of Ukraine eight months ago, the West has been trying to cajole, convince and coerce India to change its stance on the issue from one of a vague neutrality to strong condemnation and “stand with the democracies”.įortunately, however, India has stayed the course and remained out of the battle of words and weapons vis a vis Ukraine, calling for peace and end to hostilities but rejecting any move that even vaguely puts Russia in an uncomfortable position. Touching a raw nerveĬertainly, the two statements and actions, in Berlin and Muzaffarabad, may have just been a coincidence and nothing else. However, this is perhaps exactly what India should not be doing and instead of going red in the face in anger, India needs to take a step back and take in the bigger picture and make amends in its actions and speeches.
“So, we encourage Pakistan, and we encourage India to follow the track of the cease-fire, to follow the track of the United Nations, and to intensify the political dialogue, and also the political and practical cooperations in the region,” Baerbock added.Īs usual, the visits and the comments have left India blushing and bristling, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly denouncing both Germany and the United States for their statements and actions. At a joint press conference, addressed by the visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his German host, Annalena Baerbock, the German chief diplomat said, Germany had a “role and responsibility” with regard to the tension over Kashmir.īaerbock, who is also the leader of the largest party in Bundestag, the German Parliament, added that Germany supported “intensively the engagement of the United Nations” to find a peaceful solution to the dispute. Pakistan scored another ‘win’ against India, barely a couple of days later, but thousands of km away from Muzaffarabad in the German capital Berlin.
0 kommentar(er)
