BEIJING: A Chinese newspaper has spewed its wrath in ink warning that the country won't sit quietly if India boosts military ties with Vietnam to counter Beijing. "If the Indian government genuinely treats its enhancement of military relations with Vietnam as a strategic arrangement or even revenge against Beijing, it will only create disturbances in the region and China will hardly sit with its arms crossed," the daily said. It even asked New Delhi not to "stir up troubles" in Southeast Asia.
Reports say, India is in talks with Vietnam to sell indigenous surface-to-air missile system. "This was supposed to be a normal arms sale, yet was portrayed by the Indian media as a response to counter the Chinese threat," the paper wrote. It said it was natural for New Delhi to deepen its ties with Hanoi, which is a pillar of India's Act East Policy, but cautioned that "such ties should be built for the sake of peace and stability in the region, rather than stirring up troubles or anxiety for others."
The paper, run by China's Communist Party, wanted India to join the Belt and Road project. "This will help promote the country's infrastructure construction, improve connectivity within the region and may even turn into a push to solve the India-Pakistan contradictions. It is hoped that the hype in the Indian media does not represent the country's government. There are divergences between Beijing and New Delhi, yet there are more common interests that await the two to explore."
During an official visit to Hanoi last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced $500 million defence credit line to Vietnam, which is dubbed as "principal protagonist" in the South China Sea. The article said that "due to geopolitical factors, some nations have been cosying up to India over the years, which to a large extent contributed to India's fruitful development."
"New Delhi understands that the best strategy for itself is to continue its collaboration with all parties, instead of picking a side and turning hostile to one another. Otherwise, it might not only turn others' troubles to its own puzzles, but also suffer enormous losses of development opportunities. India has a dream to grow into a great power. But under today's international circumstances, it will be extraordinarily hard to achieve the goal on its own. What India needs is more pragmatic cooperation with other countries."
