Don’t succumb: New Delhi must show it can stand up to Beijing’s wolf warrior tactics

Beijing is bringing in a national security law in Hong Kong that effectively spells the end of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ approach granting autonomy to the economic hub. Its move to integrate Hong Kong could lead to the US revoking the city’s trade privileges; and possibly offering asylum to Hong Kong’s dual passport holders thereby stripping the city of its best and brightest. That Beijing still decided to go ahead despite the risks involved – besides unilaterally declaring new administrative districts to incorporate disputed islands in South China Sea – indicates that it is willing to up the ante as a major revisionist power in the world system.

Alongside, Beijing is also stepping up the ante along the LAC. The confrontation began earlier this month in Sikkim and eastern Ladakh and has seen both sides send in additional troops to the forward areas. The situation is particularly tense at Galwan Valley with an estimated 1,200 Chinese soldiers pitching 80-100 tents and setting up bunkers much ahead of China’s claim lines in the region.

Indian diplomats have rightly seen a connection between Chinese aggressiveness along the LAC and the broader trend of “wolf warrior” diplomacy that Beijing is currently showcasing. It is willing to hit countries like Australia with import bans, for example, when the latter legitimately broached the question of probing the Covid pandemic’s origins. Since Beijing permits few imports from India in any case, pressure along the LAC may be its instrument of choice in coercing India to back its international positions, now facing flak from Western countries, and to accede to a China dominated order.

Thus, Beijing has been vehemently opposing Taiwan’s participation at WHO – despite Taiwan’s demonstrated success in containing Covid – and wants New Delhi to take its side. It may also want New Delhi to reverse its recent move closing the automatic route for Chinese investments. But New Delhi must firmly stand up to Chinese pressure. This is especially so since Beijing rarely gives any diplomatic quarter to New Delhi on issues important to India, such as Kashmir or terror. On the economic front too, China rarely adheres to reciprocity and has done little to mitigate the huge bilateral trade deficit by giving Indian investments or imports more access. A China dominated Asian order would be disastrous. India should join cause with like-minded nations and entities, including Taiwan, and push for a rules based, multilateral order.