China’s adventurism and the World’s response

When the whole world is tackling the crisis of COVID-19, China is aggressively moving on its usual path. The military adventurism shown in the South China Sea depicts that China has kept aside the fear of this pandemic, which surprisingly came from China itself. Every other country of the world is in almost a lockdown situation to protect the spread of coronavirus. China is working on many fronts to fulfil its expansionist desires.

Every South East-Asian nation is under pressure due to these actions of China. Indonesia and Vietnam are constantly under stress due to the over deployment of Chinese military assets in the water surrounding their mainland. It was constantly involved in completing its un-natural islands. Recently, China announced that it created two new districts in the South China Sea, the Paracel (Xisha) island group district near Vietnam and the Spratly (Nansha) island group district, part of which is in the West Philippine Sea.

It placed the districts under the control of a  Chinese city of Sansha in Hainan province and named Woody Island (Yongxing Island) as the administrative base of the Paracel island district and Fiery Cross (Kagitingan Reef) as the administrative centre of the Spratlys district. With the consecutive naming of districts and features, China again tried to claim ownership of virtually the entire waterway, citing the areas as part of their territory.

Last month, Chinese forces rammed into and sank a Vietnamese shipping boat with eight fishermen on board, while they were out fishing in the Paracel island, which also claimed by Vietnam as well. Naval forces of China sailed one of its survey ships off to the Malaysian coast too closely to shadow Malaysian oil exploration assets. However, in response the U.S. also sent it’s amphibious ships to counter it.

Whenever these Countries have tried to stand against this behaviour of China. China has reacted in a tougher manner. Some even went to UN agencies but nothing happened. This is more complicated than what it seems, these states are dependent on Chinese investments and it becomes a major hurdle to counter it.

There were clashes between the troops of Indian Army and Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) on the borders of North Sikkim (Naku La), which adjoins the 3,448-kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC) that informally delimits the disputed Sino-Indian frontier. Troops from both the side engaged in hand-to-hand fighting and stone-pelting, with both sides sustaining minor injuries. A similar scuffle was seen in the eastern Ladakh in an area called Finger-5 on the northern bank of Pangong Tso lake.

China is aware of the fact that Taiwan is now getting support from other nations as well. And this all adventurism was a part of China’s tactics so that the world could not pay attention towards Taiwan. But it didn’t work for longer. In the World Health Assembly (WHA) going on Taiwan got full support from many countries including the U.S. and India to participate as a separate country.

But as of now, Beijing has managed to keep Taipei out of this assembly. However, the newly elected President of WHA, Keva Bain announced adopting the proposal for the supplementary agenda seeking inclusion of Taiwan to participate in the World Health Assembly as an observer.

But in a major setback, one thing positive that happened, after pressure a majority of the member countries, including India, to probe its Covid-19 response, World Health Organisation (WHO) has agreed to initiate an independent evaluation at the earliest appropriate moment. Beijing, which has been under mounting global pressure, also seemed to have relented on its opposition for an inquiry into the origin of the virus, believed to be a wet market in Wuhan.

China has constantly lied to the world about the origin of coronavirus. It has shown irresponsible behaviour in countering and managing the disease. The U.S. has constantly been warning China and now the entire international community has a voice in addressing the key issues raised by the corona crisis.  

India may think that it has nothing to do with the Taiwan issue but China is not an innocent child. It has tried to heat up India’s relations with Nepal in view of misusing the public sentiments against India. There is no doubt that China, with its infrastructure projects and other strategic inroads into Nepal, is actively working against India’s interests in the Himalayan country.

While Kalapani has been a long-standing territorial dispute between India and Nepal, Kathmandu has now taken to escalate Lipulekh as well. Its strong protest against India’s new link road to the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand is probably at the behest of China. And now, it is high time when India should openly stand against China and go vocal as well. China may feel that with this aggressiveness it will be able to counter every issue but this time the bird has flown from the nest. Situations are not very easy at it may be speculating. U.S and Japan has already started taking some hard steps like targeting the businesses and asking the companies to leave China. India has also started building road map on self reliability boosting the locals, which is surely going hit hard China’s dream