China exploiting crisis: US diplomat

WASHINGTON:A senior US diplomat has attributed the recent Chinese aggression against India at the border to Beijing’s assessment it could take advantage of the fact that the world is distracted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“One explanation for (China) creating multiple fronts like this is an assessment in Beijing that the world is distracted and is focused entirely on survival right (now), recovering from the corona pandemic, which then possibly is seen as an opportunity to take advantage of the distraction,” assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs David Stilwell said during a briefing held days after the Galwan Valley clash last week. The latest Chinese activities, he said, are similar to Beijing’s past activities on India border, including Doklam in 2017. “This activity is similar to the activity we’ve seen in the past on border disputes with the PRC (Peoples Republic of China), and again, I would point you to those – I think it was 2015 when Xi Jinping

travelled to India the first time,” Stilwell told reporters on Thursday while briefing them about the Hawaii meeting between secretary of state Mike Pompeo and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi. “The PLA (People’s Liberation Army) invaded this contested area deeper and longer, with more people, than ever before historically. Whether that was a negotiating tactic or just a punch in the nose to demonstrate their superiority, I don’t know.”