China and its bandwagon of propagandists masquerading as journalists have been churning one atrocious editorial piece after another to vent out its anger as the new world order increasingly settles in the axis of its opponent—India. CCP’s mouthpiece Global Times and its editor Hu Xijin has now published an article where he seems to be issuing veiled threats to Russia and in the process satiating the bruised egos of the Politburo staffers sitting in Beijing.
Global Times and its frustration in the wake of the bruising received by PLA troops in Galwan valley and Pangong-Tso has been well documented. The mouthpiece routinely publishes videos and articles on its social media platforms to create a psychological image that its PLA troops are superior to the Indian forces, although the reality is diametrically opposite.
However, in the new article, Hu plays down Russian actions of providing India with arms and ammunition in the wake of June 15 incident by saying that Russia is a traditional partner of India and therefore it shouldn’t be seen from the lens of the Indo-China conflict whilst simultaneously arguing that it would have been ‘encouraging’ if Russia made these dealings at some other time.
The editorial piece on Sino-Russian ties by Global Times read, “It is true that Moscow is selling arms to New Delhi. It is understandable that some Chinese people are uncomfortable with such news. It would be encouraging if Russia could make trade-offs like this with better timing in order to avoid misunderstandings by Chinese.”
Global Times seems to be trying hard to plaster a brave face while knowing that Russia has indeed taken a position of supporting India by taking these actions.
The editorial’s passive-aggressiveness was evident from the fact that Hu had to paint America as the common enemy of Beijing and Moscow to pass the argument that both countries were on good terms.
The propagandist editor couldn’t issue direct threats to Russia and therefore used the classic tactic of evoking, “An enemy’s enemy is a friend.”
He writes, “Both China and Russia are under pressure from the US, which is an important incentive for Beijing and Moscow to get and stay closer.”
Reported by TFI, the Sino-Russia relations have taken a nosedive in recent times as China continues to mount claims over the far-east region of Russia, much to Moscow’s dismay.
To repair the damage, Hu mentioned that “China and Russia are strategic partners” whilst in the very next line stating that “But we are partners, not allies”, insinuating that Beijing didn’t trust Moscow.
“China and Russia are strategic partners. This is something both countries have maintained as their highest priorities. But we are partners, not allies. It is impossible and unfair to ask Russia to take sides with China in the China-Indian border conflict.”
As per an SCMP report, the jingoist Chinese elements had went up in arms as soon as Russia boosted arms sales to India following the violent face-off. To many CCP trolls within China, the increase in Russian arms sales to India seemed like a stab in the back. One Chinese internet user, for example, wrote, “While fighting your opponent, how would you feel if your friend handed over a knife to your opponent?”
Reported by TFI earlier, Russia had announced the suspension of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to China and also iterated that resumption of further deliveries was yet to be ascertained.
To further show that Russia valued its Indian counterparts, the Russian Defence Minister assured New Delhi that it won’t supply arms and ammunition to another enemy of India viz. Pakistan. Islamabad and Beijing are thick as thieves and therefore snubbing them means that Russia wants to show its solidarity with India.
It was Moscow that had pressurized Beijing to demand a Defence Minister level meeting with India and iron out the issues sitting across the table at the SCO meeting, earlier this month.
Russia Today, the Russian government-funded international televisions network has carried out favorable coverage for India in the India-China border standoff, to the surprise of many international relations enthusiasts.
China cannot afford to irk Putin and Moscow and therefore it cannot go all out in its propaganda pieces to attack its northern neighbor. Global Times publishing an article where it talks at length about how Russia is a ‘neutral actor’ in these circumstances should be a reason enough for a layman to understand that Xi Jinping is not happy with the actions of Moscow. The veiled threats are just a way to send its desperate pleading message to Putin. However, Moscow has already made up its mind and Beijing is yet to accept that reality.