Opinion | China and India need to show respect and manage differences
By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
With the Russia-Ukraine conflict raging in Eastern Europe, the Joe Biden administration has succeeded in mobilizing European countries against Russia. Besides, the U.S. president has artfully portrayed Russia as "friends with no limits". The point is to transfer the European feelings of hostility toward Russia to China by lumping them together.
To be fair to China, amid the US-led Western world boycott against Beijing's Winter Olympics, it was human to be grateful to Russia. After all, Mr. Putin was the only great power that had come to China just to honor the host country. Anybody would psychologically be elated and thankful.
And so, the US has successfully misled the world into believing that China is siding with an aggressor, or a "thug" in Biden's language.
Fortunately, Russia over the years has made a friend out of India, an Asian country that has a long history of relying on Russia for arms supplies. That is a plus.
Unfortunately, Germany has recently sent fighter jets to Singapore and South Korea in an attempt to show that the US, and its allies are internationally isolating China, and encircling it with US allies, threatening to be forming an Asian version of NATO.
India, being a member of the Quad, is also quietly urged to take aims at Beijing, accusing it of being prejudiced against Australia, whose former prime minister had been provoking and offending China over the so-called issue of the origin of Covid-19, asking the WHO to investigate, much to China's annoyance.
India Takes Aim at Beijing's Alleged Trade Coercion
India's foreign minister criticized China for its alleged economic coercion of Australia in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, saying progress and prosperity over the past 80 years was the result of a trading system "governed by rules and not politically influenced."
Canberra's ties with China, Australia's largest trading partner, have nosedived since early 2020 when former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government called for an independent investigation into the origin of the coronavirus. Beijing retaliated with trade restrictions, including high tariffs on Australian barley and wine.
When asked by the paper whether Beijing's actions towards Canberra constituted economic coercion, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said: "You know that bit – if it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck."
Beijing has denied using trade coercion against Australia and other countries, with foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian insisting that China "always follows WTO rules".
Jaishankar traveled to Melbourne for a meeting of the Quad, a regional partnership made up of India, Japan, Australia and the United States that is intended to help democracies coordinate their response to the rise of China.
Jaishankar Said the Quad had all Agreed that "Politics Should Not Be Conducted by Coercion at Any Time"
At the meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Quad to take a tougher stance toward the Chinese Communist Party's alleged antagonism in the region. But added that he did not consider war with Beijing inevitable.
Jaishankar said the clash between India and China on their shared border had been discussed at the meeting.
The Quad discussions came as Australia's trade minister headed to India for meeting with his counterpart on a free-trade agreement between the two countries.
Jaishankar said in the interview with the paper that there should be "a much larger quantum of trade and investment between Australia and India".
He said the pandemic had shown that, in some cases, trade had become overly concentrated in a small number of partners.
CONCLUSION
The room for China's maneuver in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be tight and continues to be tightened as the United States has now seemed to be scoring points for its leadership in Europe.
Joe Biden has achieved what his predecessor Donald Trump has failed to do in Europe. And he is now determined to show the world that America is renewing President Obama's pivot to the Asia Pacific.
Under the circumstance, it would be strategic for China to actively lobby for India's support; bringing India over to China's side is one rival less from the US-led camp to deal with.
From Jaishankar's words and deeds made in Australia and elsewhere, it is clear that he is being vocal as a Quad member should.
But that does not mean that India is willing to serve under the US as a "pawn" like Australia, or some of the Eastern European countries.
India under Modi has ambitions of its own, and the Indian prime minister is determined to out- perform his rival party of Gandhi.
From Jaishankar's words and deeds, it is clear that he is actively trying to run a campaign to shore up Narinder Modi's image and leadership.
Under the circumstance, there is room for China to zero in on the US-India relationship: Being a Quad member, India is easily lead; this is incongruent with the image that India is rising.
Besides, India is unhappy with America's bid of sending advanced fighter jets to Pakistan, its rival. Jaishankar had complained openly not too long ago.
Actively lobbying India, therefore, inviting it to be a co-partner of ASEAN, China can help fulfil India's ambition that it is a leader in Asia, and not an easily led-Quad member under the leadership of the United States, which is now widely seen as a great nation in decline.
But China must effectively and efficiently manage the India-China border issue to India's satisfaction.
A consequential question: How successfully and sincerely can they manage their contentious border issue?
There is a Chinese saying, "First, you salute the opponent; then, mobilize the army, should the salutation fail." I suspect, the two armies must have a severe language barrier, not necessarily that there had existed a mutual hostility.
Or, better still, both sides should overcome the language problem by speaking English, an international language.
Strategically, I prefer India to Russia as an ASEAN partner.
The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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