As I and most other major news sources in the world have already written about recently, there’s a bit of tension between the countries of India and China. Several weeks back, Chinese soldiers marched into Indian territory, across the vague border between the two countries in the Ladakh region. For a while they refused to leave, stating publically that they were in their own territory. And though they currently have pulled back to their original position, this display of Chinese muscle may have more negative effects than they’re prepared to accept.
In India, the people are not happy about what happened. Protestors have been taking to the streets to express their discontent over what they see as Chinese expansionism. There are also many who have expressed their view that the Indian government is rolling over for China and allowing them to do as they please. During a time when India has plenty else to deal with, some see the incursion as a display of force. China is also known for its close ties to Pakistan, one of the biggest issues that India has to deal with at present, which further worries people about Chinese intent.
To be frank, the border in Ladakh is not truly mapped out, so there is a slim possibility that China doesn’t believe they were in the wrong. More likely, however, they were just making a declaration that they are better prepared for conflict if relations should come to that. India was in the process of upgrading their defenses in the region and China could have been looking to preempt that move.
With the new Chinese president scheduled to visit India at the end of this month, some think they’ll try to negotiate a treaty on the border that’s good for their country and bad for India. Of course, India has already said that they’re not about to play that game. Either way, it makes China look aggressive and could have quite a negative effect on upcoming trade negotiations, not to mention pushing India more toward making allies of Western powers, a result that China is desperately trying to avoid. China needs India as a trade partner and the move that they pulled in Ladakh is nothing less than extremely short-sighted.
India China flag courtesy of Simeon via Wikicommons
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