Chinese President Xi Jinping who also heads the powerful Central Military Commission has asked the People’s Liberation Army to keep its soldiers in a state of alert and prepare for a war.
China also recently hiked its defence budget by 6.6% to USD 179 billion which is nearly three times that of India.
Why would China talk about war at a time the entire world is busy tackling the SARS-Cov-2 virus.
Also Read: Sino-Indian disputes can be settled through dialogue: Chinese Envoy to India Sun Weidong
The answer is not too difficult: The world is increasingly demanding accountability from China for the Covid-19 crisis and China has had little to offer other than lip service.
Over the last 20 years, 5 viruses have wreaked havoc throughout the world and incidentally all five originated from the People’s Republic of China.
However, this time around, the damage has been particularly harsh and the world is not going to let go of China anytime soon. They will be held accountable.
With most of China having managed to contain the virus, and the rest of the world still grappling with it, questions over China’s alleged mishandling in the initial stages of virus spread are bound to be asked.
It is under these circumstances that China now appears to be trying to divert attention—both of its domestic audience as well as the world’s.
What all has China raked up in the past few weeks tells the story. NewsMobile takes a closer look:
India
The Sino-Indian border is about 3488 kilometres long. The Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh share a border with China.
Due to British era treaties, this border is still in a state of dispute. The two nations have established various mechanisms to deal with the dispute and all active fighting has stopped since 1993, when the two nations signed the Treaty on Peace and Tranquility in the border region.
What could be a possible reason for the Chinese to see red all of a sudden?
Experts opine that this could be because of India’s enhance emphasis on border development. Various agencies such as the BRO, Indian Railways and others have in recent times improved connectivity up to the border.
China has been carrying out its own projects on its side. However, it has objected to India carrying out projects on its side.
Taiwan
Ever since Tsai-Ing-Wen and her Council of Ministers were sworn in and Taiwan gained prominence in the diplomatic circles around the world, China has been on an overdrive to discredit the entire nation.
China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces and expects other nations to affirm to the principle of ‘One China policy’, while completely discarding the sovereignty of other nations.
There is no evidence of Taiwan ever being part of China and it stands as an independent nation.
The fact that the international community is taking note of Taiwan’s success against COVID-19 is unsettling the Dragon.
US
The war of words between the US and China over the origin of COVID-19 has increased in recent times.
China tried actively to divert attention by first blaming the US, then Italy and finally Africa. Many African nationals were ill-treated and racially abused in various Chinese cities.
The US has been carrying out naval patrols in the South China Sea and the Taiwan straits.
This angered the Dragon which sent out its aircraft carrier Shandong deep into the oceans.
Hong Kong
The draft law being discussed in the National People’s Congress gives absolute right to the Central government to intervene in Hong Kong to suppress ‘national security’ threats which in the true sense mean only democratic protests.
Hong Kong has been up in arms against China’s draconian laws and several independent voices have emerged from the coastal city.
It is all these factors that have made the ‘middle kingdom’ nervous.