It is not advisable to take every word of Chinese seriously. They are the ones who issue “last warning” to the USA 900 times. But, when it gets to a certain threshold, it becomes necessary to thrash them. The Chinese spy-ship issue is one such example and New Delhi wasted no time in thrashing Beijing.
China’s misinformation campaign against India
Recently, India took on the Chinese propaganda machine head-on. Beijing was trying to portray India as a colonizer of Sri Lanka. Instead, it ended up embarrassing his own country on Global stage. Firstly, Qi Zhenhong, China’s envoy in Colombo endorsed an article claiming that India colonised Sri Lanka 17 times in its history. The article did not cite any historic agreement, any history book or any anthropological evidence for that matter. Given the fact that he is representing a Communist regime, that is expected from him.
Due to lack of evidence, the article would have died an intellectual death. The Chinese knew it, so they started pushing misinformation on their state-owned platforms. The baseless, anti-truth allegation was also pushed by the Twitter account of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka by the Twitter account of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka as well. Then Global Times, CCP toadie jumped in and pushed the narrative a bit more by citing its envoy in Sri Lanka.
From #OneChina Principle to #yuanwang5
by Amb. QiThose two matters may seem irrelevant and thousands of miles apart, but both share a same significance between 🇨🇳 🇱🇰: to jointly safeguard each other’s sovereignty, independence & territorial integrity. https://t.co/9QwNvEyeFj pic.twitter.com/qfXKEsqSPU
— Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka (@ChinaEmbSL) August 26, 2022
China was specifically angry about India’s response to the docking of a Chinese spy vessel at Hambantota port. India had responded fiercely to the news and the Chinese ship had to make a delayed landing at the port. The Chinese tried to portray India’s attempt to protect its national interest as harming Lanka’s sovereign status as a country.
India castigates China
The campaign was big and looking at the history of Chinese aggression, it was imminent to counter it, especially since there is a pro-India wave in Sri Lanka. The Indian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Y.K. Sinha did not waste any time. Through a series of tweets through the Twitter account of Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka, the ambassador categorically stated that the Chinese ambassador had violated basic diplomatic etiquette.
The Embassy said that it may be an aberration from normal on the part of the Chinese envoy. However, the Indian Embassy also hinted that Chinese Diplomat is following his national attitude.
➡️We have noted the remarks of the Chinese Ambassador. His violation of basic diplomatic etiquette may be a personal trait or reflecting a larger national attitude.(1/3)
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) August 27, 2022
India cornered China on every front
The Indian Embassy expressly stated that it is China which is involved in colonisation and border offence, not India. It was possibly aimed towards China treating Taiwan as its colony. Indian Embassy tweeted, “His view of #SriLanka’s northern neighbour may be coloured by how his own country behaves. #India, we assure him, is very different.”
➡️ His view of #SriLanka's northern neighbour may be coloured by how his own country behaves. #India, we assure him,is very different.
➡️His imputing a geopolitical context to the visit of a purported scientific research vessel is a giveaway 🇱🇰. (2/3)
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) August 27, 2022
India then took on China’s debt-trap diplomacy. Stating that Sri Lanka needs support and now browbeating, the Indian Ambassador said, “Opaqueness and debt driven agendas are now a major challenge, especially for smaller nations. Recent developments are a caution. #SriLanka needs support, not unwanted pressure or unnecessary controversies to serve another country’s agenda.”
➡️ Opaqueness and debt driven agendas are now a major challenge, especially for smaller nations. Recent developments are a caution.
➡️#SriLanka needs support, not unwanted pressure or unnecessary controversies to serve another country’s agenda.(3/3)
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) August 27, 2022
An end to wolf-warrior diplomacy?
The tweet thread was an apt move by the Indian envoy. The Chinese are literally flabbergasted by how India responded to their territorial aggression. Earlier they tried to mellow down their response as finally, they had got their way, even though it was late. However, reports came out that India had fried their ship’s spyware circuits.
Obviously, China could not state that wide open since it would expose the hollowness of Chinese claims that their vessel was designed to conduct scientific research. So, they chose this path. The very fact that the campaign started a week after the Chinese vessel left Hambantota is evidence that China meticulously planned this as part of their so-called “wolf-warrior diplomacy”.
India has been proactive in countering this style of diplomacy, especially after the Galwan valley attack. Now, the war is being fought in neutral locations.
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