While Russia has denied mediating between India and China over the ongoing border conflict, it laid the groundwork for a meeting in Moscow which was attended by Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar along with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10. This was the first bilateral meet between the two ministers since the standoff that started in May.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Chinese state-owned, Global Times, stated in an article that Chinese netizens have been “exaggerating” the issue saying that Russia is helping India against China.
“Some articles online have said that Russia is stabbing China in the back.” He further dismissed this saying that Russia is actually serving as a mediator in this China-India border conflict.
He rejected the “anti-Russia” online agenda saying that it would hardly make a difference and that they are trying to damage China’s vital international strategic resources. “Their behaviour is completely different in nature from people with complex understandings about the history of China and Russia.”
He pointed out that while Russia has sold several military ammunitions including the early delivery of the S-400 air defence system that India demanded following the clash between Chinese and Indian troops in the Galwan Valley, the arms deal between India and Russia is not targeted at the China-Indian border conflict.
The S-400s are one of Russia’s most sophisticated long-range surface to air missiles and arguably the most versatile in the world with over half a dozen types of surface to air missile each specialised in intercepting different types of targets at different ranges.
Earlier, it was widely reported, India had also fast-tracked the process to acquire 33 fighter jets from Russia, which include MiG-29s and Su-30MKIs.
“India is one of the largest long-term buyers of Russian arms. Selling weapons to India is of great significance to the development of the Russian military industry,” he stated.
The author emphasised that China and Russia are strategic partners and it cannot ask Russia to take sides with China in the China-Indian border conflict.
“I didn’t see any discussion outside of China that Moscow is favouring partially either Beijing or New Delhi. Besides, I don’t see any English-language reports that argue Russia is helping India against China.
All the articles about Russia stabbing China in the back are written in Chinese.” He added that such malicious motives would push China into real isolation, and help the US achieve its strategic containment of China.
The author pointed out that both Russia and China have been “under pressure” from the US which helps in strategic containment of China.
“The US has been wishing that China and Russia would turn against each other for some reason,” he wrote. “To damage, the relationship between China and Russia would be the most unwise strategic mistake that any of the two countries could and would make.”
He concluded saying that there are voices in Russia too that favour China-Russia relations and Moscow has decided to protect these relations for its own benefit. “China-Russia relations are a gift of this era to peace and humanity,” he wrote.
