India's China and Pakistan problem - an analysis
SHARE:
India-Pak-China relations, and Winter Olympics 2022
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- The story: In the Budget session 2022, opposition leaders questioned the government over following a foreign policy that was responsible for bringing Pakistan and China together.
- Background: Pakistan was a member of two US-led anti-communist military pacts, SEATO and CENTO. On the other hand, India had a working relationship with China.
- India and China had the same anti-colonial, non-aligned approach and they together gave the policy of Panchsheel but this relationship quickly changed due to the war between India and China in 1962.
- The India-China war of 1962 led to China developing closer ties with Pakistan. They became "iron brothers" and "all weather friends".
- In a boundary agreement in 1963, Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley to China. That gave China an edge in the geography of the region.
- The Shaksgam Valley or the Trans Karakoram Tract is part of the Hunza-Gilgit region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and is a territory claimed by India but controlled by Pakistan.
- The agreement laid the foundation of the Karakoram highway, built jointly by China and Pakistan in the 1970s.
- Pakistan got support from China diplomatically in the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
- Rapproachement: In the 1970s, Pakistan facilitated the outreach between the US-led by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger and China’s Mao and Zhou Enlai. That thaw was a turning point in China's relations with the US, and its complete dissociation with the Soviet Union (which China feared may have attacked it!). Nuclear cooperation was one of the key pillars, especially after India tested its nuclear device in 1974. Later, US helped China enter the WTO in 2002, and the rest is history.
- China's backing for Pakistan: China played a significant role in helping Pakistan develop its nuclear energy technology. In Sept 1986, they signed an agreement to facilitate the transfer of civil nuclear technology. In 1991, China agreed to supply Pakistan with its indigenously developed Qinshan-1 nuclear power plant. After India tested its nuclear device in 1998, Pakistan followed suit —largely due to help from China. The 1988 rapprochement between India and China with Rajiv Gandhi’s visit became a watershed moment. During the Kargil conflict of 1999, China advised Pakistan that they should withdraw troops and exercise self-control. China adopted a cautious approach for Pakistan after the Parliament attack in 2002, the Operation Parakram buildup, as well as the Mumbai terror attack in 2008. This was also visible in the way China responded when the Balakot air strikes took place after the Pulwama attack in February 2019.
- Present scenario: The US-India closeness started by the nuclear deal in 2005-06 left both China and Pakistan worried. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has manifested in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which passes through the disputed territory claimed by India. India has strongly condemned the same.
- From China’s perspective, it offers access to the western Indian Ocean through the Gwadar port in Balochistan but from India’s perspective, the Gwadar port is a part of the String of Pearls Strategy, for the encirclement of India.
- Many claim that India’s August 2019 move to abrogate Article 370 and revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir has brought China and Pakistan even closer.
- In 2020, China signed a defence pact with Pakistan to enhance defence cooperation between the Pakistan Army and the People’s Liberation Army.
- Pakistan has procured Chinese-made combat drones or unmanned combat aerial vehicles. It also endorses China’s position on its core issues including the South China Sea, Taiwan, Xinjiang, and Tibet. Pakistan's meek surrender on the exploitation of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang has laid bare its claims of being an "Islamic" republic.
- After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, China has now sensed an opportunity to get into Afghanistan for influence and resources with help from Pakistan.
- Summary: India has to focus on improving relations with its neighbours, due to the many advantages inherent to it. It should not be caught in an unfriendly neighbourhood given how China and Pakistan will attempt to contain and constrain India in the region. India’s diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing was praised by the US. Diplomatic boycotts of the Olympics aim to snub host nations while keeping athletes free to compete. Refusing to participate in the Olympics would raise awareness of the violations that China stands accused of. But in the larger game, eventually, India has to build its economy strongly, and try containing China through a mix of soft and hard measures.
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy can only be successful if India’s issues with China and Pakistan are resolved. Discuss with the relevant examples. (2) Suggest some measures to strengthen India’s relationship with China and Pakistan. Critically examined the case in view of recent closeness of China and Pakistan. (3) What five things can India try to do, to build relations with China?
* Content sourced from free internet sources (publications, PIB site, international sites, etc.). Take your own subscriptions. Copyrights acknowledged.
COMMENTS