The latest episode in a series of offensive and clearly unfriendly acts of China vis-a-vis India is the recent denial of a visa to an Indian Air Force Group Captain from Arunachal Pradesh who was travelling to Beijing as a member of an official Defence delegation. An initial press report said that the Indian govt had called off the Defence visit in protest against the Chinese replay of an earlier hostile attitude on the visa issue concerning Indian citizens from that NE State of the Indian Union. But, unfortunately, a fresh report stated that the Defence delegation's visit to China was still on, only with reduced number, excluding the senior IAF officer from Arunachal who was refused visa by the hosts!
However, being familiar with the utterly timid and cringing behaviour of the UPA govt, one was not surprised. To add insult to the injury, our External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and the National Security Adviser reportedly went out of their way to publicly agree with the Chinese ambassador in New Delhi that some elements unhappy with Sino-Indian "strategic alliance" were deliberately trying to highlight minor incidents in order to project bilateral relations in a bad light. Some Indian observers raised questions about the nature of the socalled "strategic" relations the Minister was talking about!
Judging from China's persistent arrogant and cynical anti-Indian stance, it seems that our neighbour is suffering from a chronic and compulsive itch to hurt and needle India. In the past, in pursuit of its aggressive and expansionist posture, claiming Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory, China refused to recognise the State inhabitants as Indian citizens and denied them visas to visit China even as official Indian delegates. After nation-wide protests and bilateral negotiations, China resorted to a mischievous practice of stapled visas. In an expression of solidarity with its "all-weather" friend-Pakistan, China followed similar practice of stapled visas even for J&K Indian citizens! In the face of a storm of indignation in the media and the govt, the Chinese relented, giving up the stapled visas.
Obviously, old habits die hard. Recently, China's anti-Indian neurosis resurfaced when they humiliated an Indian consular diplomat in a Chinese court room where he had gone to help two Indian employees of a trading company who had been kidnapped and tortured by some Chinese traders. Again, a national outrage against the Chinese high-handedness, forced the UPA govt to act. Beijing regretted with suitable reassurances. Yet, within a few days of that incident, we have a repeat of the visa denial. How could a major country like China which should be grateful to us for what we did to help them in the initial years of the Communist regime's birth to get international recognition and assumption of the UN Seccurity Council membership even ahead of us, be so obnoxiously and relentlessly hostile to us?
However, being familiar with the utterly timid and cringing behaviour of the UPA govt, one was not surprised. To add insult to the injury, our External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and the National Security Adviser reportedly went out of their way to publicly agree with the Chinese ambassador in New Delhi that some elements unhappy with Sino-Indian "strategic alliance" were deliberately trying to highlight minor incidents in order to project bilateral relations in a bad light. Some Indian observers raised questions about the nature of the socalled "strategic" relations the Minister was talking about!
Judging from China's persistent arrogant and cynical anti-Indian stance, it seems that our neighbour is suffering from a chronic and compulsive itch to hurt and needle India. In the past, in pursuit of its aggressive and expansionist posture, claiming Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory, China refused to recognise the State inhabitants as Indian citizens and denied them visas to visit China even as official Indian delegates. After nation-wide protests and bilateral negotiations, China resorted to a mischievous practice of stapled visas. In an expression of solidarity with its "all-weather" friend-Pakistan, China followed similar practice of stapled visas even for J&K Indian citizens! In the face of a storm of indignation in the media and the govt, the Chinese relented, giving up the stapled visas.
Obviously, old habits die hard. Recently, China's anti-Indian neurosis resurfaced when they humiliated an Indian consular diplomat in a Chinese court room where he had gone to help two Indian employees of a trading company who had been kidnapped and tortured by some Chinese traders. Again, a national outrage against the Chinese high-handedness, forced the UPA govt to act. Beijing regretted with suitable reassurances. Yet, within a few days of that incident, we have a repeat of the visa denial. How could a major country like China which should be grateful to us for what we did to help them in the initial years of the Communist regime's birth to get international recognition and assumption of the UN Seccurity Council membership even ahead of us, be so obnoxiously and relentlessly hostile to us?
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