As tensions between the two countries increased as a result of a Chinese warship docking in a port in Sri Lanka, India accused China of militarising the Taiwan Strait.
According to the British publication The Guardian, India criticised China in response to a statement made by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.
The island nation of Sri Lanka is located in southern India, and recent reports from the West have noted Beijing’s growing influence there.
Despite the long-standing border dispute between the two major Asian nations, this is the first time India has used this categorization when discussing the affairs of the Strait.
A Chinese military research vessel had spent a week stationed in the Hambantota port of Sri Lanka earlier this month.
The Yuan Wang 5 is one of a group of ships used by the Chinese army to keep up with the launching of ballistic missiles and satellites, experts pointed out.
After India’s interception, the Chinese ship Yuan Wang 5’s arrival was postponed for many days because of concern that China would use the Sri Lankan port as a military base.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, for its part, claimed that the ship was conducting marine research in strict adherence to international law and that it had no bearing on any nation’s economic or security concerns.
The ship had departed the harbour a week prior, and during that time the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka had released comments accusing India of using security concerns as an excuse to meddle in issues that were fundamental to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence.
India’s High Commission in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, stated on Saturday that Sri Lanka needs help, not unwarranted pressure or needless antagonism to forward another nation’s goals.
According to the Indian statement, agendas have been distributed through loans, suggesting that China is attempting to meddle in Sri Lanka through the port of Hambantota, which it funded.
Western economists have long charged China with giving some developing nations large loans in an effort to catch them in what they call a trap and turn them into elusive puppets for Beijing.
While Sri Lanka is undergoing its greatest economic crisis since the country’s president was forced to flee abroad amid a large popular movement, this ferocious rivalry between China and India is raging.
About 10% of Sri Lanka’s overall debt is made up of loans from China, but starting this year, India took the initiative to give Sri Lanka nearly $3. 8 billion to help it get out of its economic crisis.
influence and negotiation
Wen Tae Song, a specialist in Chinese affairs at the Australian National University, thinks that by characterising China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait as militarization, India is exerting what can be considered a negotiating influence.
According to the analyst, China does not currently want to escalate on more than one front, therefore India uses a hard tone in negotiations with Beijing but is likely to offer to change it in the future.
Following the “provocative ship,” India made a “strongly worded” statement against China.
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