Delhi should ‘beware of US instigation’

▶ China, India to hold new round of commander-level talks

The US’ seemingly unequivocal support to India on the China-India border issue only serves US interests, and India is just seen by the US as a bullet in its containment policy toward China, Chinese analysts said, following US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s latest accusation of China.

Pompeo on Wednesday accused China of taking “incredibly aggressive action” in a recent border clash with India.

The US seemed unable to sit still on the China-India border issue, analysts said.

US President Donald Trump said at the end of May the US was “ready, willing and able” to mediate the border dispute between the Asian countries. On May 6, Indian border troops crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to trespass into China’s territory.

The US gesture may have convinced some Indian politicians and military officials to believe that the US will stand by India and offer help in confronting China. But for the US, befriending India serves to pressure and contain China rather than offer help to India’s geopolitical security, Chinese analysts said.

There is no doubt that Washington would prefer a conflict between China and India so that the US will benefit, analysts said.

Some Indian politicians and military officials, encouraged by the US, were reluctant to ease border tensions, and there have been signs of the Indian army provoking small conflicts recently, experts said.

But India should not be fooled by US tricks. The US could only pay lip service to India and is unlikely to offer any concrete financial or military help, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

“India has to understand that it is just a bullet for the US in its containment policy toward China, not even a gun,” Lü said.

Swaran Singh, a professor and chair of the Center for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US is only helping India because it serves their own interests, as all of this is part of painting China as a villain.

Singh said Indian leaders have been very wary to accept any third party mediation on China-India border issues, and India has conveyed the message to the US that India and China have been diplomatically engaged, and are confident in resolving the issue bilaterally.

China-India border tensions have subsided after diplomatic and military communications. The border troops of China and India have been taking effective measures to disengage, and the two sides will hold a new round of commander-level talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at Thursday’s routine media briefing.

Zhao said that he hopes India will work with China to implement the consensus reached by the two sides.

For the US, befriending India serves to pressure and contain China rather than offer help to India’s geopolitical security, Chinese analysts said.