Chinese bellicosity

Amassing 10,000 PLA troops and heavy tanks and mortars along the LAC from Ladhakh to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is a part of the aggressive expansionist policy of China. Its bullying tactics in Hongkong and Taiwan are its oft-repeated strategy to assert dominance over its neighbours and browbeat them. The dirty game of power of Beijing is more than pronounced in South China Sea which has thrown challenge to America, triggering a cold war like situation between the two mighty nations of the world. Beijing's pleasure seems to keep its neighbours in trouble and weaken their economic backbone and in the process keep them under subjugation. Its belligerent attitude towards India in particular is not difficult to understand. India coming closer to America and President Donald Triumph's invitation to Narendra Modi to attend G-7 summit is viewed as a threat to China's dominance in South East Asia. But, India is no more of 1962 when the aggressive China forcefully occupied 42,000 square km of land including Aksai Chin when the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was singing paean for Panchsheel signed with his counterpart Zhou Enlai in 1954 for peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding among others. Nehru just brushed aside the loss of land as no assault on India's territorial integrity with the simple statement, 'Not even a blade of grass grows on the land.' Nation was stunned, but China became more aggressive. India under Narendra Modi has changed with tectonic shift in its policy towards China. In 2017, Doklam design along Bhutan border was foiled by Indian forces, forcing PLA to stop road construction plan. New Delhi has learnt 'to be prepared for war is the best guarantee of peace'. For that, diplomatic channels have always been open. Having failed the diplomatic option, Indian Army foiled the unprovoked aggression of PLA at Nathu La and Cho La in 1967. The Nathu La clashes started on September 11, 1967 where PLA attacked the Indian posts. More than 300 PLA soldiers died in the skirmishes. In October 1967, another brief border encounter took place at Cho La. New Delhi did learn much from 1962 debacle. Balakot air strike has sent the signal to another recalcitrant neighbour Pakistan to rein in its terrorists or face the dire consequences. Attack on Uri army camp did not stop India to carry out surgical strikes inside Pakistan, evoking high praise from global military experts.

Delhi wants peace but not at the cost of its territorial integrity. This message has gone well with its adversities. Ji Xinping has to understand it and accept the reality. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi flayed the Centre over Ladakh impasse and self-imagined occupation of Indian land by China. His accusation was dubbed false by investigative reports of the national news channels. He was reminded of Panchsheel days vis-a-vis Today India under Modi. Rahul Gandhi can well read 'Himalayan Blunder' by Brigadier Dalvi to know the debacle of 1962. Xi Jinping's aggressive 'one road, one belt' (OROB) policy is yet another instance of China's bellicosity. New Delhi is determined to thwart it. Quite significantly, Indian Army has raised a dedicated mountain corps division to meet the bellicosity of China and misadventures of Pakistan. The might of Indian Army has been acknowledged by Chinese military expert Huang Guozhi, senior editor of Modern Weaponry magazine published from Beijing. True, India under Modi is different.