Beijing: Accusing the US of trying to drive a
wedge between "tested friends" China and Pakistan, the
official media on Wednesday said that America was "poking its
nose" into the Sino-Pak ties using "India`s hand" with "hyped
up" reports of the presence of Chinese troops in PoK.
Commenting for the first time on the recent New York
Times report about presence of up to 11,000 troops in PoK and
denial of visa to Lt Gen B S Jaswal who heads troops in Jammu
and Kashmir, `People`s Daily`, the mouthpiece of the ruling
CPC, said the US seems to have "fixated on the strategic and
military indications" behind the China-Pakistan ties.
The NYT report, which was denied by China as an attempt
to "provoke" Sino-Pak relations and also hurt its "already
volatile ties with India", was "quickly echoed by the Indian
media who in chorus bawled China out for its `aggressive
posturing` on issues critical to India`s sovereignty and
territorial integrity," it said in a write-up .
Interestingly, it referred to the Gilgit-Baltistan area,
where the Chinese troops` presence was reported by NYT,
as a "region administered by Pakistan" unlike the Chinese
Foreign Ministry which has begun referring to the region as
"northern Pakistan."
"India has long been wary of the iron-clad China-Pakistan
relations, and of late its concerns have been heightened after
Beijing`s alleged denial of visa to a senior Indian army
commander on grounds that his command included Jammu and
Kashmir," the write-up titled `US disguised hand behind
China-Pak relations` said.
"Although India flays even the Chinese plan to build dams
and other infrastructure projects in Pakistan-administered
Kashmir, the US seems to have more often fixated on the
strategic and military indications behind the ever
strengthening China-Pak ties."
On this assumption, China`s reach to Pakistan is
"pigeonholed" by some American military strategists as a
"muscle-flexing showcase" of Beijing`s upsurge in regional and
international military clout, it said.
Referring to the tensions brewing between China and the
US over military exercises in the South China Sea in the
aftermath of the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel
allegedly by North Korea, the daily said "the recent media
hype about `Kashmir issue` coincides with the circumstances in
which the US, after its Iraq pullout, is anxious to
recalibrate its strategic focus to Asia."
"Given this, the US would attempt to take the handle to
tame the increasingly `ambitious` China to ensure its smooth
`comeback` to the region. For this, it has to collude with
India, whose nerves would always be frayed even at the rustle
of leaves from China, and whose resentment of China is still
simmering," it said.
On the US objections to China building two new nuclear
power plants to Pakistan, the daily said this was because
America views it as a "challenge to its predominance over the
non-proliferation issue and the sub-continent."
"Earlier, the US also poked its nose into the China-Pak
relations by twisting facts about China`s aid to Pakistan`s
severe floods, trying to drive a wedge between the tested
friends. More absurd, it even went so far as to try to fan up
a donation race between China and India.
"This time, it plays the same old trick, but (by)
borrowing India`s hand to meddle in China`s standard practice
and the traditional relations between China and Pakistan," it
said.
The US "intervention" in China`s relations with its
neighbours is by no means incidental, the paper said. "Their
logic is simple: any potential challenger to Washington in
Eurasia should be the target of US global strategy."
"China has not wavered from the road of peaceful
development and the building of good relationships and
partnerships with its neighbouring countries, including both
Pakistan and India," it said.
"But viewed from the geopolitical security, China and the
US might as well see each other from a constructive angle,
rather than glare at each other and spew fire at each other at
almost every turn," it said.
PTI
