China’s expansionism via Maoism, debt diplomacy and northeast India

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Viewpoint

By Pankaj Deka*

It has become clearer than ever that that Maoism is actually a proxy war by China being waged against India for last five decades. Take the case of Nepal, where during the monarchy China kept denouncing the Maoists during the period of Maoist insurgency. It went to the extent of maintaining that the Nepalese insurgents were misusing the name of Mao. However, the links were exposed when the Maoists formed the government in Nepal and their prime minister, Prachanda, chose China as the first country for his international visit.

This reflects that China’s expansionist agenda is confined not just to the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC). Actually there has always been a well thought out and executed Chinese design to corner India. Today, covertly pitting the Maoist government in Nepal against India should also be seen with this perspective.

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There are 10 China Study Centres in Nepal, five of which are in Terai along the India-Nepal border and serve as conduits, facilitation nodes and indoctrination centres for the Indian Maoists. There is no surprise therefore when reports appeared in media in June 2020 that  Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi had funded a Nepali NGO, Kathmandu, 12.7 lakh Nepali rupees to carry out a study on what motivates Gorkha Community to join the Indian army.

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China’s actions, whether in South China Sea, Hong Kong, or India are already drawing international attention. Concerns about China’s hegemonic ambitions, mostly over the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), are rising across Southeast Asia. There are countries in the region that have succumbed to Chinese pressure. Sri Lanka brought billions of dollars to make their country better building Skyscrapers, Airports, Shopping ports and Highways. Then a few years later China wanted their money back plus interest and Sri Lanka couldn’t pay it back. So instead Sri Lanka had to give China control of what they had build, China took a piece of their home (Hambantota Port).

Nepal too is perceptibly running on Chinese diktat and this is more visible at the Nepal-China border. Recently Nepal’s agriculture department document said that patches of Nepalese territory in several districts had already been encroached by China and massive road development projects in the Tibet Autonomous Region had led to rivers changing their course and expanding China’s boundary into northern territories of Nepal. The occupation of Rui village had been done systematically by China in the last two years. But so far Nepalese government is tight-lipped about it and at the behest of China, is more engaged in creating artificial disputes with India over boundaries and three villages that belong to India.

It is becoming clearer that the Chinese debt-trap diplomacy has trapped many countries including Pakistan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Tonga, Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Venezuela, Angola, Cambodia, Niger, Myanmar, Laos, Zambia, Samoa, Vanuatu, Mongolia, Montenegro and beautiful Maldives. Because of the Covid-19, many countries especially SAARC and ASEAN nations might fall into this trap too because of the long lock down and suffering economy. They might take million dollar loans from Chinese Banks to pay for Covid-19 tests, medical equipment and for those who lost their jobs. And in a few years when life goes back to normal, China will come knocking asking for their money plus interest just like what they did in Sri Lanka. If these countries cannot, they would repeat what they did earlier – take something away from these countries too. It could be buildings, land or even beautiful beaches.

The insurgencies in the North East India (NEI) had been supported by erstwhile East Pakistan in the late 1950s; and in early 1960s, in the form of training of personnel of Naga Army and giving them weapons. The Chinese support for insurgency in India was at a high from 1967-1980 when China’s foreign policy advocated the spread of ‘revolution’ around the world. A new umbrella organisation with ten insurgent groups of NEI was formed, namely the United National Liberation Front of South-West Asia (UNLFSWA), on April 17, 2015.

The insurgencies of NEI have continued despite various efforts by Government of India for a permanent solution. Resolving the ongoing insurgencies in NEI will be the harbinger of peace and consequent economic prosperity for the millions of people in NEI. It is therefore a step in the right direction, for the success of India’s AEP, and for India to emerge as one of the global powers in a multipolar world of the 21st century.

Recent moves in relation to geographical and cultural history by Nepal PM between India-Nepal is very evident of China’s expansionism motives. It is therefore clear that the Maoist movement has been a continuous reality in India for the last at least five decades.

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of mobilisation of armed forces and strengthening of conventional deterrence capabilities across the borders by both sides,  the focus is also shifting to the economic and strategic spheres.  It is in this light that China taking up in vain the Kashmir issue to the United Nations Security Council four times so far, can be seen, as also a strong reaction from India by taking measured action against Chinese businesses in India.

It has to be seen how the border stand-off and India’s macho posturing impacts global geopolitics as well as factional wrangling within China’s ruling Communist Party which prepares for the once in the five-year national congress 2022.

*The writer is a Guwahati-based social entrepreneur working towards drawing public attention on United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in India. The views published here are personal.

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