China fails to realise India’s “different approach” under Modi: Ram Madhav

Says India’s border policy with China includes “strong ground posturing” as well

New Delhi, March 28 (Delhi Crown): Despite Doklam and Ladakh, China fails to realise that the current Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) regime in India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi “thinks differently” and has a “different approach”, wrote Ram Madhav, a senior Indian politician, author and thinker, in an article published in an English daily on Monday (March 28).

In the article titled “Beijing wants business as usual, but Delhi is having none of it”, he called China an “important and troublesome neighbour” of India.

Both sides had suffered casualties during the fisty-fights in Ladakh two years ago, though no bullet was fired by either side. Prior to that, triggered by China’s aggression and expansionist approach, troops from both sides had a standoff for at least 73 days before being withdrawn.

Madhav is currently serving as a member of the National Executive of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). Formerly, he has been the National General Secretary of the country’s main ruling BJP.

The relation between the RSS and the BJP is such that the latter draws its ideology from the former, while the former actively campaigns for the latter during elections. While the RSS was found in 1925, much before India’s Independence, the BJP was formed in 1980.

Calling China as India’s “important and troublesome neighbour”, Madhav said that the Modi Government has effected an important shift in India’s border policy with China that includes “strong ground posturing as well”.

According to him, while continuing with the military-led talks over disengagement, India, during the two-year standoff, also participated in at least eight rounds of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC), a process to address the outstanding border issues.

“But it simultaneously kept up ground offensive by deploying men and weapons in large numbers. If the Chinese moved their field guns and military aircraft, India too did the same,” wrote Madhav in his article.

Referring to the last week’s Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit, Madhav wrote that India clearly rebuffed China’s overtures during his visit which reflected Modi government’s “national interest” approach.

He said that while Wang Yi behaved during his visit as if nothing had happened, both the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval conveyed Delhi’s position “firmly but politely” to Wang, sending him back almost empty-handed.

“After all the disasters in bilateral relations, Yi quietly walked into Delhi to tell the Indian leadership that the two should get along with business as usual. Wang was at his pontificating best, as if nothing serious had happened between the two countries,” wrote Madhav in his article.

He added – “This style is typical of China and has been played out several times in the past. The Peace and Tranquillity Agreement of 1993 was also a product of this Chinese trickery. After making incursions into the Indian territory in the winter of 1986 at Sumdorong Chu Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, they dug in their heels for seven years before forcing a treaty that provided a principle of peace and tranquillity but didn’t protect India’s sovereign interests. Even that principle has been violated several times subsequently in the last three decades.”

The Chinese follow the formula – “what I occupy is mine, what I claim is to be debated”. Wang Yi’s proposal about a “long-term vision” amounted to India accepting the present standoff as normalcy.

Fortunately, the Indian leadership refused to buy this “new normal”, with Jaishankar insisting on peace and tranquillity along the LAC as a precondition for normalcy, Madhav mentioned in his article.

According to him, in a deliberate provocation to India, Wang chose the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers, held in Islamabad on March 22, to make unwarranted reference to Kashmir in a clear violation of the restraint hitherto followed by both countries in each other’s internal matters.

Madhav further said – “India never publicly articulated its views on Xinjiang or Tibet despite justifiable reasons. Naturally, the Indian side has forcefully conveyed its disapproval of his Kashmir references, both through an immediate media response naming Wang Yi in person, and also at the discussion table in Delhi forcing Wang on the defensive.”