The Indian forces have pushed back the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops, following the latter’s transgressions into Sikkim and Ladakh. The news of these skirmishes has made it to the international headlines, and many questions have been raised against China. So, Beijing is trying to save face by turning the narrative on its head and accusing India of trespassing into Chinese territory instead. Beijing accusing anyone else of trespassing is the proverbial case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Global Times, a Communist Party of China (CCP) mouthpiece has published a report accusing India of “recent, illegal construction of defence facilities” across the border “into Chinese territory”. The state media report further states, “India has been crossing the boundary line in the Galwan Valley region and entering Chinese territory.”
The report also quotes an unnamed military source in China as saying, “Since early May, India has been crossing the boundary line in the Galwan Valley region and entering Chinese territory. The Indian side built defense fortifications and obstacles to disrupt Chinese border defense troops’ normal patrol activities, purposefully instigated conflicts, and attempted to unilaterally change the current border control situation.”
Global Times is writing pulp fiction at the expense of the CCP and the inexperienced People’s Liberation Army (PLA), in order to save its face from the massive embarrassment that China has faced at the hands of Indian forces in Sikkim and Ladakh.
The PLA troops engaged in scuffles with India at Ladakh and Sikkim earlier this month, which was seen as an attempt to pressurise New Delhi against taking an anti-China stance at the World Health Assembly.
TFIPOST earlier reported how New Delhi didn’t buckle under pressure from China and went on to sign the Australia-backed motion for an investigation into WHO response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Sikkim face-off had led to minor injuries on both sides followed by a quick disengagement. According to some reports, a young Indian Lieutenant had punched a Chinese Major in the face, literally giving China a ‘bloody nose’.
However, it had been reported that immediate disengagement didn’t happen in Ladakh, unlike Sikkim. The clash took place at ‘finger 5’- a point where pitched battles were fought during the 1962 Indo-China war. Soldiers on both sides have reportedly sustained injuries, the nature of which is not yet known after 250 soldiers clashed at an altitude of around 14,000 feet.
Matters between India and China had flared up again, after a meeting of senior commanders, and later there were reports about the Indian Air Force (IAF) rushing in fighter jets at the border in Ladakh. India Today had quoted top government sources as saying, “As soon as the movement of Chinese helicopters was picked up, the Indian fighter jets were rushed to the border areas in the Ladakh sector.”
Chinese helicopters were spotted flying close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and by rushing in fighter jets, the Indian forces thwarted Chinese attempts to violate India’s airspace for the first time in many years.
Beijing’s attempts to achieve foreign policy goals ahead of the key World Health Assembly meet failed disastrously as the Indian Army pushed back the PLA troops. Beijing is always the trespasser, whether against India on the Sino-India border, or even against other countries in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
If Beijing has to blame India for trespassing into Chinese territory, then it means the country really has something to hide, viz. getting beaten back badly by the Indian forces.
