With the Indian Forces scaling the heights of the strategic points along the tense Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh to keep the wanton aggression by China’s PLA troops under check, Chinese propaganda arm, Global Times, has leaned on Congress propaganda against the Modi government to mount pressure on India. In an article published by Global Times, allegations made by the Congress party against Modi govt has been used by the Chinese govt’s media house.
The article is published at a time when the meeting between the Defence Ministers of the two countries concluded in Moscow, with the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh sharply noting that the Chinese manoeuvres along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh were in violation of bilateral agreements.
As a part of its psychological warfare, Chinese state-affiliated mouthpiece attempted to undermine the Modi government, claiming that the BJP-ruled centre in India is facing much more domestic pressure as compared to the Chinese government, notwithstanding the United States’ aggressive posturing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chinese mouthpiece cites Congress criticism to dissuade Modi government from sustaining border conflict
Citing an undistinguished research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Hu Zhiyong, the article published by Global Times on Saturday contended that the Indian National Congress was waiting for an opportune time like this to launch an attack against the Modi government for its “disappointing domestic governance and fraught foreign policy”.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Modi are facing much heavier domestic pressure than the Chinese government, even with the US showing its aggressive posture in the West Pacific against China. This is because the opposition, the Indian National Congress party, has been waiting for such a chance to shake the BJP by heavily criticizing the Modi administration for its disappointing domestic governance and risky foreign policy,” Global Times quoted Hu as saying.
The reference to the Indian National Congress was made by the Chinese propaganda media outlet to dissuade the Modi government from embroiling itself in a border dispute with Beijing and risk losing the political capital to the principal opposition party. It was a veiled threat issued by the Chinese mouthpiece, alleging that any wrong move by the PM Modi concerning the Ladakh standoff might provide an opening to the Congress party, which is restlessly seeking to depose the BJP government
Global Times wages propaganda campaign against the Modi government after India captures strategic heights in Ladakh
China seems to be thoroughly rattled by the Indian government’s audacious move in the Eastern Ladakh. The fact that the article in Global Times, the media house which works under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party(CCP), cautions the Modi government against the domestic challenges posed by the Congress party, is a reflection of the profound disquiet that has swept across China after Indian Army’s agile moves in the Pangong Tso Lake region.
The article also mentions that the raging coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession induced by the lockdown imposed to tame the contagion had further weakened India’s ability to engage in a border confrontation with China. It also highlighted the steepest fall in India’s GDP to claim that India is in no position to escalate the border standoff with China.
While the Global Times has called for India to defuse the border tensions, it is worth considering that the Indian Forces in the South Bank of Pangong Tso Lake region are perched on a vantage point as compared to their Chinese counterpart. However, the Chinese-state media has still persisted with his proclamations, claiming that the Indian forces could not continue their standoff against the Chinese soldiers.
This is a typical modus operandi adopted by the Chinese propaganda machinery to accentuate the perceived vulnerabilities of its opponents while glossing over its shortcomings. The Global Times, which is an integral part of this Chinese propaganda machinery, has employed the same strategy by trying to deter the Modi government from stopping the expansionist Chinese manoeuvres by highlighting the strident criticism from the Indian National Congress and the economic woes facing the country.
