CHINA’S CLAIM AS A PEACE LOVING COUNTRY – By N.S.Venkataraman
In recent times, Chinese Foreign Minister has repeatedly asserted on various occasions that China is a peace loving country and it would do utmost to maintain the global peace even in the present chaotic conditions. According to him, China vows to uphold stability amongst geo political turbulence. At one time, it has offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and now it has offered to mediate between Russia and USA !
Those who have been observing the various acts of China in the last several decades would find it extremely difficult to believe that Chinese government is peace loving .
No one can forget the onslaught made by China against the peaceful Tibet several decades back and massacred thousands of innocent protesting Tibetans and China has been governing the Tibet region now with vice like grip. It has thoroughly uprooted the traditional Tibetan culture and practices and now Tibet is no more what it was several decades earlier.
China waged a war against India in 1962 and now it is holding thousands of kilometres of Indian territory, claiming that it is part of China . China now claims that Arunachal Pradesh in India belongs to it. China has approved construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam, a $137-billion project on the Yarlung Zangbo River (Brahmaputra) in Tibet, raising concerns from India and Bangladesh about potential environmental and water resource impacts on India and Bangladesh. China does not care about the concern expressed by India and Bangladesh with regard to this proposal. . In the last several years, there are many occasions when China has entered into military conflict with India in the Indo China border and has been blowing hot and cold with regard to relations with India.
China is now creating issues with Philippines in South China sea often resulting in confrontation with Philippines . It also has also issues with Japan, with regard to Senkaku Island and has issues with Vietnam also.
Chinese military has now warned of tightening noose around Taiwan and has not concealed its ambition to take over Taiwan. China has been constantly threatening Taiwan by several military postures around Taiwan.
Taiwan was created as a separate state when Chinese internal war took place several decades back and China was split . The fact is that as the mainland China claims that Taiwan is its own , Taiwan too can legitimately claim that mainland China belongs to it.
China’s expansionist greed and often indulging in conflicts and quarrels with neighbours, is now well known and therefore , China’s claim that it is committed to world peace cannot be believed and many people may think that it is like devil quoting scripture.
There is no doubt that China has made remarkable economic and industrial progress in the last few decades ,with China now having the second largest economy in the world after USA. China is now depending on rest of the world for its trade and therefore, it is necessary for China to talk about peace to ensure that its global market share would not be challenged , particularly with US President threatening to impose tariffs against Chinese goods exported to USA. Market in USA is too important for China to forego and therefore, talk on peace is now on Chinese interest.
When China continues to make aggressive postures against neighbours and attempting to browbeat smaller countries by making them debt ridden and forcing them to open their market to Chinese goods , one cannot believe that its commitment to global peace is genuine.
in the present scenario , only thing that can be said in favour of China with regard to its claims on commitment to peace is that other powerful countries in the world such as USA, Russia too claim that they are peace loving and it appears that China , USA and Russia are in the same slot as far their claims about being champions of peace are concerned ! The claims on peace by China, USA and Russia sound hollow and insincere and the discerning people in the world know this.
