of ethos
| Date :25-Jun-2020 |
MINISTER of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar is on the mark when he insists that international relations are governed by certain ethos that must be respected by all. He did not have to clad his sentiment in cosmetic words during an on-line conference with his Russian and Chinese counterparts. He made India’s position clear by stating, though indirectly, that it was China that was engaged in a violation of the international ethos that should govern relationships between countries. Known for his mastery of words, Dr. Jaishankar did not just make a philosophical comment on the current situation, but also made it known to the world what India thinks on critical issues governing multi-lateral relations.
There is little doubt that his words representing India’s global view would be taken seriously by all countries, hopefully including China. It is most unfortunate that China has often acted in stark violation of international ethos -- culture -- of peaceful, meaningful coexistence by becoming better partners of one another, helping everybody in achieving legitimate goals in pursuance of global good. China has often believed that it must keep the neighbourhood disturbed and negatively affected by its actions. This is Beijing’s way of created a regional dominance -- which is in full flow currently even as the world combats the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed lakhs of lives worldwide.
The most difficult aspect of China’s national persona is that no nation in the world is in a position to predict how Beijing would behave in a given situation. When everything between India and China seemed so wonderfully proceeding in the right direction of togetherness, the Galwan Valley stand-off threw a spanner in the wheel -- for no reason, for no understandable point of friction. So bad has the situation become now that the Indian people may take, say, half a century to build back trust about China into their mindset, collective or individual. Dr. Jaishankar is referring exactly to this unpredictable behaviour of the Chinese, running counter to the international culture of mutual respect and care and concern. Even as the Indian and Chinese armies have reportedly agreed to disengage in eastern Ladakh and move back to avoid friction-points, there is no guarantee that the Chinese will adhere to their own word.
That is so because they have created a bad record for themselves by their uncouth international behaviour over time. For, they have created a Ladakh issue when there was no need or provocation to do so. Whatever India has done by way of creation of appropriate inland infrastructure is within its perfect legitimate rights. Yet, the Chinese have raised senseless objections to a lot of Indian actions in the past some time. The reference of Dr. Jaishankar’s statement is to all these Chinese moves. For, what Beijing has done is to create a problem where there is no problem actually. When a country is beset with such a psychology, any effort of sorting out a stand-off is going to meet with failure. Since the stand-off began one and a half months ago, China has said time and again that it wanted a peaceful solution. This is nothing but the special Chinese double-talk that carries little sense.
That is the reason why the Indian people as well as the larger world does not believe the Chinese word a bit. For, the fierce scuffle also took place when the Indians tried to pacify the Chinese. The attack on the Indian troops, though without firearms, was planned and dirtily executed. Dr. Jaishankar has referred to all these dimensions when talks about the need to follow international ethos among nations. It is dismaying that China does not believe in any good conduct, no matter what others say.