China’s territorial disputes from the Himalayas to Taiwan are outlets for domestic torments and the Chinese army is in the battle to forget national frustrations, writes Oliver Guillard in the French publication, Asialyst.
On December 9, in the mountainous region of Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), in a disputed territorial and border perimetre, clashes once again took place at an altitude of more than 5,000 m, near from an Indian military post, troops from Beijing and New Delhi, causing injuries on both sides, reported Asialyst.
“Our army faced this attempt by China with firmness. A scuffle took place during this face-to-face. The Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from encroaching on our territory and forced them to withdraw. A few soldiers on both sides were injured in the scuffle,” added Singh.
“From what we understand, the situation on the border between China and India is broadly stable. The two sides maintain unhindered dialogue on the border issue through diplomatic and military channels,” said Guillard.
lAST December 13 will definitely remain a day rich in interstate tensions in Asia-Pacific, he said, adding that in East Asia, 3,000 km east of Tawang, in the very sensitive Taiwan Strait, the Chinese armed forces were also at work, no longer on land but in the air.
Admittedly, during the recent 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October in Beijing, it was well understood that the new Grand Helmsman of the People’s Republic (Xi Jinping) and his renewed and close guard intended in the future to pursue a vigorous and assertive foreign policy, that the present evils and torments afflicting China were the result of “external efforts aimed at containing and undermining it”, and that the Party, the people and the nation had to prepare for “strong winds, rough waters and dangerous storms”.
No doubt we should rather think that the regime is deliberately working to direct the gaze of its constituents towards consensual nationalist external disputes.
It is a fact that in the main Chinese urban centres, the police presence has become significantly heavier and more active since the rare and courageous popular mistrust of the “zero Covid” policy, even during President Xi Jinping, month last.
Beijing’s power circles reportedly prefer diplomatic wrath from New Delhi, Taipei or the West, to the domestic ire of a population battered by the consequences of three interminable years of pandemic and multiple restrictions. A dubious strategy and not without risk, of course, said Guillard.