India needs to be 'taught rules': Chinese daily

India needs to be taught the "rules" of handling the boundary dispute, a prominent state-run Chinese daily said on Wednesday adding that New Delhi was mistaken if it thinks it can afford a "showdown" with Beijing on the border.

The comment in an op-ed in Global Times, without the author's name, comes in the wake of a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the border area in Sikkim.

China has accused Indian troops of "trespassing" its boundary and in a reaction suspended the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

"Chinese and Indian soldiers are locked in a face-off at the Sikkim section of the China-India border after Indian troops crossed the boundary and entered Chinese territory."

"China avoids making an issue of border disputes, which has indulged India's unruly provocations. This time the Indian side needs to be taught the rules," the piece said.

"India cannot afford a showdown with China on border issues. It lags far behind China in terms of national strength and the so-called strategic support for it from the US is superficial."

The daily said "China must force the Indian troops to retreat to the Indian side by all means necessary, and China's road construction mustn't be stopped."

The People's Liberation Army has accused Indian troops of obstructing road construction on the Chinese side.

"It remains unclear whether this flare-up is the fault of low-level Indian troops or a tentative strategic move made by the Indian government.

"Whatever the motive, China must stick to its bottom line."

"India's national confidence has been greatly boosted with its GDP rising to fifth in the world. The fact that the US and West are willing to woo India to counterbalance China has particularly added to Indians' sense of strategic superiority."

"Some Indians believe the US and Japan are building a circle to contain China, and India has an advantage over China by choosing whether to join this circle."

"Therefore, they can indulge themselves on issues including border disputes, while China has no choice but to make concessions."

"As the China-India borderline hasn't been demarcated completely and the two countries have a different understanding about the Line of Actual Control, troops from both sides often stray across in some areas. However, almost all frictions are fed to the Indian media by the Indian military which they hype time and again."

"China has no desire to confront India. Maintaining friendly ties with New Delhi is Beijing's basic policy. But this must be based on mutual respect.

"It's not time for India to display arrogance toward China. India's GDP is only one-quarter of China's and its annual defence budget is just one-third. Having a friendly relationship and cautiously handling border issues with China is its best choice," it said.

(Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based correspondent of IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com)

--IANS

gsh/rn