Doklam: While Striving For A Diplomatic Solution, India Should Be Prepared For The Worst

Swarajya

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Excerpt:

It has been more than a month since the crisis at Doka La or Doklam [JB - see] erupted. It has not been resolved as yet, nor are there any signs of early peaceful settlement of the dispute. Many squabbles and altercations on the 4,000km long frontier between India and China have occurred over the last many years. Chinese forces have encroached into Indian territory several times. All these contretemps have however been quickly settled. None of them has lasted this long. This crisis is obviously different from the earlier ones. ...

China ... has stridently maintained that India should vacate the territory and pull back its troops before any talks can take place. India’s publicity and public diplomacy efforts have been found wanting and inadequate. It is no one’s contention that India should enter into a slanging or wrangling match with the Chinese media or officialdom giving a tit for tat to them. But India’s public outreach instruments need to stay upfront to cogently and forcefully explain and rebut the calumny of falsehoods that China has been peddling. It is as necessary to reach out to the Indian populace as it is to inform the international decision and policy makers and thought leaders on the accurate sequence of events. ...