Pricked by the ongoing Indo-Japan summit, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, said that India’s great wisdom lies in dealing with China in a calm way, undisturbed by internal and international provocateurs.
In the sharp opinion piece released on Tuesday, the newspaper lashed out at Japanese politicians calling them “petty burglars” on China-related issues.
It said Japan was unable to tolerate the fact that China and India properly solved the recent border standoff issue in a short time. The paper described the border resolution as a “miracle.”
“In the development of Sino-Indian ties there are several divergence [sic] and contradictions. Some countries see these differences as an opportunity to provoke dissension,” said the People’s Daily.”
China is also facing a territorial maritime conflict with Japan over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested re-calibrating the nation’s security alliance with the United States to jointly form a “Democratic Security Diamond,” a proposed strategic alliance of Indo-Pacific countries sharing common issues about China’s growing naval force.
The paper said that Abe also proposed to promote “Strategic Diplomacy” and “Values Diplomacy,” and visited countries around China. “Some politicians just made themselves petty burglars on China-related issues,” it said.
While Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in his address to the Japan-India Association in Tokyo on Tuesday said: “In recent years, our political and security cooperation has gained in salience. Japan is the only partner with whom we have a 2-plus-2 Dialogue between the Foreign and Defense Ministries. We have also begun bilateral exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force.”
Singh also said that maritime security across the linked regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans is essential for regional and global prosperity, and therefore the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce should be upheld in accordance with international law.
These comments by Singh, which are a back-handed criticism of China, are probably not what People’s Daily had in mind, when it praised Indo-China relations saying that “China and India have great vision and great wisdom.”
