BEIJING, July 6 (TNS) Chinese state media warned a “bullying” New Delhi that if it doesn’t back down in the latest border dispute, Beijing may well begin supporting “pro-independence appeals in Sikkim”.
Supporting Sikkim’s “independence” will “be a powerful card to deal with New Delhi”, said an editorial in the Global Times, which is run by the Communist Party of China’s People’s Daily newspaper.
In fact, the editorial strongly advocated that “Beijing should reconsider its stance over the Sikkim issue”. That’s because it believed India “has to pay for its provocations” and because China needs to end “New Delhi’s regional hegemony” which “is swelling to a tipping point”.
The editorial spoke of people in Sikkim being “sensitive” to how the world views them.
“Although China recognized India’s annexation of Sikkim in 2003, it can readjust its stance on the matter. There are those in Sikkim that cherish its history as a separate state, and they are sensitive to how the outside world views the Sikkim issue,” it said.
“As long as there are voices in Chinese society supporting Sikkim’s independence, the voices will spread and fuel pro-independence appeals in Sikkim,” said Global Times.
The editorial accused India of having “brutally cracked down” on Sikkim’s “revolts over sovereignty” in the 1960s and 1970s.
“New Delhi deposed the king of Sikkim in 1975 and manipulated the country’s parliament into a referendum to make Sikkim a state of India,” the editorial said.
India’s “annexation” of Sikkim “is like a nightmare haunting Bhutan”, the publication said.
In this context, Global Times yet again accused India of coercing Bhutan to play on its side in this latest border dispute, which involves China constructing a road in the Donglang area in Sikkim.
On the other hand, Chinese experts said that India should not be overly confident about its military capability or have the delusion that China is afraid of it and will compromise on sovereignty issues.
The military gap between China and India is even bigger than it was in 1962, the first time the two armies engaged in an armed conflict along the border, analysts said.
