The relations to the nations are based on their psychological study. If the leaders of a nation or a country cannot keep their word, then the nations belonging to neighbors, bordering or economically, they look with suspicion and have the right to defend themselves and their national interests. This is the real issue in the recent disputes between China and India. India is engaged in military constructions on its borders and in the presence of these constructions it is not possible to be ignoring them. Pakistan has a long experience with India so we know very well that India’s peace friendship really is a desire for expansionism, or at least a scheme to annoy the neighbors. But not only Pakistan but also China now has a long experience of this and as soon as it realized that India was building military type in and around Ladakh which could become a permanent threat. China increased its military presence so that India would be well aware that if mischief was committed it would not be ignored. Not only other countries in the region are worried about this situation, but there is a global situation that is causing everyone to watch the tensions between China and India very closely and to worry about any outcome that could lead to a confrontation. Why is China so vigilant about India? To find the answer, we have to look through the windows of history.
When the subcontinent was under British colonial rule, there was an agreement between the British government and the Chinese government in which the boundaries were demarcated. This agreement is called the Convention of Calcutta and it was signed in 1890. After that all the border issues were settled till1895. When the British colonial system came to an end and the subcontinent became independent, then Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru came to power in India and because of his “unparalleled intelligence” he created border disputes not only with Pakistan but also with other neighbors. At the same time, every effort was made to ensure that there were border disputes between India and China. China’s communist leadership has decided since the revolution that China will do its best not to get involved in a military confrontation with any country anywhere. Therefore, China adopted the same approach in the case of India. The method of Jawaharlal Nehru’s government was different and India seems to be practically adhering to the same method till today. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a letter to Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai acknowledging that he recognized the 1890 Convention of Calcutta. Let us mention that the Indians now interpret his letter in a different way that he was saying this, he meant it, he was replying. But the fact is that the contents of this letter prove that he was acknowledging China’s claim.
But in practice, India was still doing something else. India was constantly interfering in the affairs of Tibet, and unfortunately is still doing so today. The same Indian intervention was creating a state of unrest in Tibet which was unbearable for China and led to the 1962 Sino-Indian War. This war made China believe that India’s verbal accrual should never be relied upon and since then China has made up its mind that it would be wise to make India realize in time that it is doing wrong. And error is not barren but produces results. India continued its activities even after that and forcibly annexed the independent state of Sikkim through a military action. The state of Sikkim was recognized by India as an independent state until the early 1970s, but as a small state, it did not have the strength to compete with India’s expansionism. When India occupied Sikkim, India himself held a referendum and formally included it. The region is China’s neighbor. China has been amazed at how India has flouted international law and its agreements with Sikkim. Until 2003, China viewed the Sikkim region as its neighboring independent state.
All these incidents, including the Indian role in the East Pakistan tragedy, have created a regional psyche regarding India. China also sees India as an unreliable nation. When China was building infrastructure in Doklam in 2017, India intervened militarily in the region in the name of Bhutan. The area was not disputed between India and China, but still a third country came to picture in the name of Bhutan. This intervention fully alerted China that it would now vehemently oppose any action or construction by India aimed at showing military might. Now India is constantly showing its military muscles at that time. It intends to build a large-scale infrastructure along the road, which includes construction in the disputed area, and the deadline for its construction is set for 2022. China had also shown a lot of patience on the issue of Doklam, but its tolerance was misinterpreted. So China has now begun to show restraint as well as military prowess that peace is only for those who want peace and repeated mischief has the worst consequences but the Indian leadership is still unable to understand.
