The ongoing conflict in Kargil between
India
and
Pakistan
has attracted world-wide reaction including
China
. Of all the Great Powers, the Chinese views are most important for
India
. Firstly,
China
is
India
’s neighbour, and also borders
Pakistan
by virtue of its occupation of nearly 5000 sq. kms. of
Kashmir
transferred to it by
Pakistan
. Secondly,
Pakistan
has tried to enlist Chinese support on Kargil where it has been pushing infiltrators across the Line of Control (LOC). Yet, it has failed in this effort, despite its close friendship with
China
.
Behaving as a responsible ‘Great Power’,
China
has refrained from taking sides in the Kargil imbroglio and adopted a neutral posture. Firstly,
China
believes that resort to military confrontation by
India
and
Pakistan
will not resolve the Kargil crisis. As a leading official Chinese daily commented editorially on 7th June, 1999, “history has repeatedly told (us) that war will do nothing to the settlement of border disputes but crank up tensions”. Secondly, in the Chinese opinion, continued Indo-Pak hostility will be detrimental to peace and security in
South Asia
. Therefore,
China
has advised both
India
and
Pakistan
to show restraint to prevent the situation from further deteriorating. Thirdly,
China
has asked both countries to discuss and negotiate the issue. On June 12, 1999, when the Pakistan Foreign Minister Mr. Sartaz Aziz went to
Beijing
to seek Chinese support,
China
told
Pakistan
to ‘settle its disputes with
India
peacefully through dialogue and negotiations’.
Reasons behind
China
's neutrality
China
’s views on Kargil has to be seen in the broader context of its policy on
Kashmir
. In the last two decades, there has been a change in its
Kashmir
policy, which has much to do with its own internal compulsions. During the days of Sino-Indian hostility,
China
adopted a pro-Pak policy on
Kashmir
, and talked of the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people. By the early 1980s, however, the new thinking in
China
developed an anathema for the word ‘self-determination’, lest it be applied by the West to the case of
Tibet
. The rise of secessionist tendencies in its Muslim
province
of
Xinjiang
also made
China
aware of the dangers of ‘self-determination. Moreover, by the late 1980s,
China
's own territorial disputes with the South-East Asian countries over the Spratly Group of
Islands
led to military clashes. Having shown its preference for bilateral talks to resolve the dispute,
China
could not deny the same principle in the case of
Kashmir
. Therefore, as relations between
India
and
China
improved by the end of the 1980s,
China
advocated bilateral talks between
India
and
Pakistan
on
Kashmir
. In fact, during his visit to
India
and
Pakistan
in December 1996, the Chinese President, Mr. Jiang Zemin, stunned the Pakistani Senate by calling on both countries to build a co-operative relationship and set aside ‘difficult issues’. Although he did not directly mention
Kashmir
the reference was obvious.
There are other reasons why
China
cannot support
Pakistan
on
Kashmir
or Kargil. The very foundation of
Pakistan
is based on Islam and therefore is a source of religious terrorism. While it has openly supported terrorist forces in
Kashmir
, there are reports of Uighur Muslim terrorists getting training in Pakistani camps. In fact,
China
had protested to
Pakistan
on this issue in February this year, an allegation denied by
Pakistan
. Besides, after the break-up of the
Soviet Union
, Muslim fundamentalism is on the increase in
Central Asia
. Any support to
Pakistan
on
Kashmir
, therefore, will only lead to more problems in the adjoining more vulnerable Chinese
province
of
Xinjiang
.
A policy meant to appease
China
's present stand on Kargil is designed to please both
India
and
Pakistan
. Unlike the G-8 countries (excluding
Japan
),
China
has not blamed
Pakistan
for infiltrating militants across the Line of Control (LOC). When Li Peng, China's number two leader, described Kashmir as a ‘complicated affair’ during his meeting with Mr. Sartaz Aziz, it was meant to keep Pakistan in good humour. It has not allowed Kargil to become an irritant in Sino-Indian relations either. Unlike
Iran
and
Libya
,
China
has not offered to play a ‘third-party role’ in the Kargil crisis. Moreover, during the recent visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, to
Beijing
only a passing reference was made to the Kargil crisis during his talks with his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan.
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