Why is China provoking India over Arunachal
China has declined politically and economically under Xi Jinping, and the BRI brand is becoming less and less appealing every day.
Delhi, New: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the border state this month, China reiterated its baseless cartographic claims over Arunachal Pradesh. This is part of Beijing’s strategy to continue painting its territorial claims as also purposefully upsetting India.
The Modi government has responded verbally to uncalled for remarks made by the Chinese over Arunachal Pradesh, but the main goal is to engage Bharat in a rhetorical brawl and prolong the unresolved matter. The truth is that under Xi Jinping, China’s political and economic standing has declined, and the BRI brand is becoming less and less appealing as nations like Italy have emerged from the Communist debt trap.
India, on the other hand, has developed politically and economically under Prime Minister Modi, and Bharat is moving towards gaining the international stature required to take on oppressive nations like China.
India, though, has figured out how to match the Chinese at their own game. The Modi administration also responds to Chinese ad-nauseam claims over Arunachal Pradesh and portions of East Ladakh by restating the conventional language. The days of India being troubled by frequently repeated remarks from China are long gone, and the Modi administration is actively interacting with allies in South East Asia.
On March 25, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the Philippines, raising awareness of Taiwan in India. The US leadership may be perplexed by the “One China” policy, but India has avoided saying the key words to the Chinese for the past ten years, despite openly supporting freedom of navigation in South China and engaging the exiled Tibetan leadership.
A complex mix of territorial disputes, geopolitical strategies, and historical grievances is the basis for China’s confrontational actions over Arunachal Pradesh. The state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders Tibet in northeastern India, has long been a source of contention between the two Asian superpowers.
First, Arunachal Pradesh is claimed by China, which says it belongs to South Tibet and was historically influenced by the Tibetans. Even though India has ruled the area since the 1950s, this territorial claim is founded on historical and cultural narratives.
Furthermore, Arunachal Pradesh is strategically important to both nations. It is at the centre of their geopolitical competition due to its close proximity to the disputed border region, wealth of natural resources, and strategic military relevance.
China has multiple strategic goals in mind as it provocatively approaches Arunachal Pradesh. First of all, they demonstrate China’s aggressiveness in territorial conflicts while demonstrating its power and exerting pressure on India. Second, China wants to demonstrate its regional superiority and draw attention away from its own internal problems by stirring up trouble in Arunachal Pradesh with India.
China wants to establish its domination in the area and has long-standing territorial problems, which is why it is provocation Arunachal Pradesh. China claims a portion of India’s strategically important state of Arunachal Pradesh as its own. Beijing has been challenging India’s sovereignty with its provocations, which include building infrastructure in disputed areas, conducting military patrols, and raising diplomatic complaints. Furthermore, China’s aggressiveness furthers its larger geopolitical goals, which include establishing supremacy in South Asia and gaining control over border regions.
The two nuclear-armed neighbours’ tensions rise as a result of this provocation, making peaceful attempts to settle their territorial dispute more difficult.
Furthermore, China’s operations in Arunachal Pradesh are a component of a larger plan to subdue India’s sway over South Asia. China aims to weaken India’s standing as a regional force and increase its own influence by inflaming tensions along the border.
India, meantime, has continuously affirmed its sovereignty and territorial integrity while rejecting China’s claims to Arunachal Pradesh. Ongoing tensions, however, underscore how unstable the India-China relationship is and how difficult it is to resolve border disputes in the area. In order to preserve stability and foster mutual trust between the two countries, efforts to find a peaceful settlement to the Arunachal Pradesh dispute are still essential.
The Chinese provocation also serves as fuel for the opposition in India, who are attempting to pressure the Modi administration to confront the PLA for geopolitical rather than patriotic reasons. Under the Modi administration, the Indian military border infrastructure along the 3488 km Line of Actual Capacities has improved significantly. Secret measures are also being undertaken to guarantee that, in the worst-case scenario, the Indian troops never run out of artillery or ammunition.
In actuality, the downturn in the stock market is what caused the Chinese economic bubble to explode. According to reliable sources, the Communist state has allegedly interfered in the stock market with around RMB 400 billion, the second-highest amount after their interference during the stock market crash of 2015. They had taken significant action in 2015, investing RMB 900 billion to stabilise the country’s collapsing stock market.
Nearly a trillion US dollars are owed on the BRI currently, and nations like Venezuela, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola, Laos, Pakistan, and other client states are unable to pay back Beijing and are compelled to give up state equity in order to settle the extremely high interest loans.
