Border Row: How Global Media Has Reported The India-China Standoff

NEW DELHI: The India-China border standoff has yet again attracted global media attention. The border tension – this time in eastern Ladakh – gained further traction as US President Donald Trump offered to mediate between the two countries to solve the dispute.

As the stand-off continues, here is how the foreign media reported the developments:
Washington Post – ‘A border clash between the world’s biggest nations’
The Washington Post wrote that China’s ongoing border clash with India may seem remote, but it has “global impact”.

Amid the global coronavirus pandemic, assessing exactly what is happening in this dispute between the two most populous countries on Earth is difficult. Much of the border region is closed to the press, so reporters have to rely on statements and leaks, it said.
The WP also wrote that another inconclusive end to a standoff will fail to address the “root of the problem”.

India and China are both in the throes of aggressive nationalist movements, each displaying their own brand of “wolf warrior” foreign policy, it added.

Bloomberg – China’s border invasion will push India toward the US
In an opinion piece, Bloomberg said that India’s long history of nonalignment is giving way to the threat of a shared enemy.

The write-up said that the dispute may be just as significant for the trilateral US-China-India relationship, which will do a great deal to shape the strategic landscape of the 21st century.
“As the US-China rivalry goes global, India may be the only nonaligned country that can, by itself, make a major difference in the balance of influence and advantage. The good news is that the geopolitics of the triangle are producing a tighter US-India partnership. The bad news is that trade frictions and India’s internal politics are getting in the way,” it read.

New York Times – China and India brawl at 14,000 feet along the border
Calling it a “fistfight” between the soldiers of China and India, the NYT said that as China projects its power across Asia, and along the disputed India-China border in the Himalayas, India is feeling surrounded. Both sides insist they don’t want a war, but thousands of troops have been sent.

“Nobody thinks China and India are about to go to war. But the escalating buildup has turned into their most serious confrontation since 2017 and may be a sign of more trouble to come as the world’s two most populous countries increasingly bump up against each other in one of the bleakest and most remote borderlands on earth,” it said.
It further said, “China has a superior military, which analysts believe could force India to back down.”

The Guardian – Tension between India China escalate
“Tensions between China and India over their Himalayan border have escalated, with China accused of moving thousands of troops into disputed territory and expanding a military airbase in the region,” the Guardian reported.
It said, “China’s actions appear to be a response to India’s construction of roads and airstrips adjacent to the Line of Actual Control, which will improve connectivity and enable easier mobility for Indian troops in the area. Construction has paused during the coronavirus lockdown but is due to resume imminently.”

The Diplomat – India and China Go Another Round
Saying the Indo-Chinese borderlands are rumbling again, the Diplomat wrote that the border incidents between the two countries draw attention to, and raise questions about, the apparent uptick in volatility along the disputed boundary.

The Diplomat said, “The obvious question is: why the increase in confrontations now? As is often the case, there is no clear-cut answer. It is always challenging trying to interpret China’s intentions in the gray zones, even more so in the thick fog covering the China-India border.”
“Just as the US looks to India to play a more active role in balancing China’s growing power and influence — including taking more forward-leaning positions on issues like the South China Sea and Taiwan, the Quad, and the Indo-Pacific — India is looking to the US to help shore up its own vulnerabilities vis-à-vis China, not least at the disputed border,” it wrote.

Courtesy: Opera News/ timesofindia.com