Slamming a report about large-scale mining by China at the Arunachal Pradesh border, official Chinese media here today questioned the report's motive while hoping that India would not be "provoked" by it and blight the progress achieved at last month's Wuhan summit.
The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Sunday reported that China has begun large-scale mining operations Lhunze county under its control adjacent to the border with Arunachal Pradesh where a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued at about USD 60 billion has been found.
The report also claimed that China is rapidly building infrastructure to turn the area into another South China Sea-like scenario.
It is to be hoped that India will not be provoked by this report, lose focus on the big picture of the relationship between Beijing and New Delhi and get off the track of Sino-Indian cooperation, the Global Times tabloid daily, known for its abrasive commentaries against India, said in an editorial today.
The editorial titled, 'Dodgy report disturbs Sino-Indian ties' said, the report poked a sensitive spot in Sino-Indian ties but severely lacked factual evidence".
It also said the Chinese expert quoted by the Post told the Global Times that he did not mention the South China Sea at all in his comments.
Terming the report as coarse, the editorial said it attracted widespread attention from Indian media on Sunday. Since the paper quoted people familiar with the project as describing China's move as a part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet, relevant news stories from Indian media were full of vigilance," it said.
But to many Chinese people, their first impression is that the report is not credible, given the vague facts, the geopolitical point quoted by a geologist and the denial by the expert, it said and questioned the motive saying that it is aimed at seeking to disturb Sino-Indian ties.
"The report was bound to make waves. Lhunze county is not a disputed region. Whether or not there are mining operations there falls entirely within China's sovereignty. The Sino-Indian border dispute is different from the South China Sea issue and so it is quite farfetched to compare the two, the editorial said.
It also said after the Dokalam standoff, Beijing and New Delhi increased their strategic communication and coordination in the border areas.
"After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Wuhan last month and his meeting with his President Xi Jinping, the two sides achieved major progress in strengthening mutual trust. Both countries have no intention of provoking border disputes and China is unlikely to kick-start an aggressive plan on territorial issues, it said.
The two governments, not the media, should take the lead in solving border disputes, as the latter can easily mislead public sentiment. Negotiations should be conducted by the two countries' professional diplomatic and security teams, which should present a solution acceptable to both parties and the two nations' societies, it said.
The daily also quoted experts alleging that Western countries are trying to create discord between India and China.
The 'groundless hype' reflected the fact that some Western powers are constantly sowing discord between China and India, and using Delhi as a pawn on the frontline challenging Beijing," Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of International Relations told the daily.
The South China Sea disputes to a great extent were created and intervened in by powers from outside the region, said Qian Feng, a researcher at the Chinese Association for South Asian Studies in Beijing.
"China and India, although they have border disagreements, are addressing such disputes through direct negotiations and making sure such issues won't undermine normal ties," Qian said.
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