Page 5 - The Indian EYE 041423

BIG STORY APRIL 14, 2023 | The Indian Eye 5

sy after Bhutan’s statement on the parts of Zangnan. This is within Chi-
“Chicken neck” between India, Bhu- na’s sovereign rights.”
tan and China. Bhutan seemingly Ministry of External Affairs of-
took a stand regarding the trijunc- ficial spokesperson Arindam Bagchi
tion between the three nations. on Tuesday asserted that Arunachal
On asking how India would Pradesh will always be an integral
react to the Bhutanese PM’s state- part of India. Bagchi issued the state-
ment, Kwatra said, “I would say that ment after China’s Ministry of Civil
India and Bhutan remain in close Affairs came up with the names of 11
touch relating to our shared interest, places in Arunachal Pradesh, which
including security interest.” it referred to as “Zangnan, the south-
Without addressing the Bhu- ern part of Tibet.”
tanese Prime Minister’s remarks In recent years, China has be-
directly, the foreign secretary said come more aggressive and assertive
that the national interests of India on its border with India. It is un-
and Bhutan, and the interests of the derstood that the US had provided
relationship between India and Bhu- India with pre-emptive intelligence
tan have some main points which are during last November’s confronta-
shared values, trust, mutual respect tion in Arunachal Pradesh. The PLA
and close understanding and sensi- has been probing and testing Indian
tivity to each other’s interests and resolve, no doubt seeing how well
concerns. Chinese President Xi Jinping continues to urge the PLA to “be prepared to fight and win wars”, the Indian military might respond to
a phrase actually invoked by Hu Jintao in around 2009 (File photo) a future conflict.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
In another related develop- continues to urge the PLA to “be
ment, Ministry of External Af- Eastern Fleet strategic depth in the that we have long stood by a few prepared to fight and win wars”, a
fairs spokesperson Arindam Bay of Bengal and command ap- things,” White House Press Secre- phrase actually invoked by Hu Jin-
tao in around 2009. One reason why
tary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
proaches to the Strait of Malacca,
Bagchi reacted to the mili- according to an analysis by Chatham But after India outrightly reject- Xi continually hammers this point is
tarization of Myanmar’s Coco House. ed China’s attempt to rename places that the PLA is not fully prepared to
Meanwhile, on the issue of of Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing on fight a major war. However, the oth-
Islands and said that India Arunachal Pradesh, United States Tuesday claimed its “sovereignty” er chilling side of the coin is that Xi
keeps a constant watch on all has strongly opposed China’s at- over the region. wants the PLA ready to take on any
tempts to advance a claim over In-
nation in the world militarily, includ-
In a regular press conference,
developments concerning In- dian territory by renaming localities. China’s Foreign Ministry spokes- ing the US.
According to reports, Xi has al-
dia’s security. And India takes “This is another attempt by the Chi- person Mao Ning said, “Zangnan ready jailed the two most senior gen-
nese claim on US, Indian territory.
(Arunachal Pradesh) is part of Chi-
all necessary measures to safe- So, the United States, as you know, na’s territory. In accordance with erals of the Jiang Zemin and Hu Jin-
guard the same. has recognized that territory for a relevant stipulations of the adminis- tao era, while he arrested thousands
long time and we strongly oppose tration of geographical names of the more PLA personnel for alleged cor-
any unilateral attempts to advance State Council, competent authori- ruption. Of course, this is relatively
While speaking to the media on a territory claim by renaming locali- ties of the Chinese government have easy to do given the engrained cul-
Thursday, Arindam Bagchi stated ties. And so, again, this is something standardized the names of some ture of graft within the institution.
firmly that India keeps a constant Analysts believe that Xi
watch on all developments with a launched an incredibly disruptive
bearing on national security. MEA restructuring in 2015 that still causes
spokesperson was asked about the reverberations today, yet it seems Xi
Myanmar Islands in the Bay of Ben- still does not have confidence in the
gal, which have long been the subject capability and loyalty of the PLA.
of geopolitical intrigue. It is alleged The picture is a gloomy one - China,
that allegation that since the early a global power with a slanted view of
1990s, Myanmar has allowed a Chi- history and a hubris that believes it is
nese signals intelligence facility on in the ascendancy - is eager to assert
the Coco Islands. its new-found military, economic
According to recent reports, sat- and diplomatic prowess.
ellite photographs of the Coco Islands According to some China watch-
have raised concerns for India about ers, not even the US is seen as too
the increased activity. With the Coco strong a foe by Xi, so of course it is
Island developments, India may willing to ride roughshod over any
soon face a new airbase close by in a smaller nation that stands in its way.
country increasingly tied to Beijing. The result is multi-faceted tensions
The militarization of the Coco everywhere that China seeks to ex-
Islands by the Tatmadaw, combined pand its reach and military presence,
with the wider Chinese develop- with Taiwan representing the crown
ments occurring inland, could pose jewel in Xi’s eyes. As Xi urges his
a significant security challenge to PLA to “prepare to fight and win
India and its navy. The Andaman India has deployed special forces in the border region (File photo) wars”, India seems to have a major
and Nicobar Islands provide India’s problem on its hands.

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