China’s New Ploy at Chicken’s Neck!

Bangladesh must remember what happens to dwarfs when giants wrestle!

It is now abundantly clear that Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor of the interim government formed amid unrest in Bangladesh, has completely aligned himself with Pakistan and China. His actions against India seem driven by some old grudge! Now, by describing India’s north-eastern states as landlocked and portraying himself as the sole guardian of the sea, he has made it absolutely clear that the brain behind it is China. This is China’s new ploy vis-a-vis Chicken’s Neck, and Pakistan’s military and ISI are involved in it.

To understand China’s plan, it’s essential to first know what the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ is, and then we can examine how dangerous Muhammad Yunus’ statements truly are. If you look at the map of India, the corridor connecting the eight north-eastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura -- with West Bengal resembles a chicken’s neck. This corridor is about 60 kilometres long and, at some points, only about 22 kilometres wide. China has consistently claimed Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory and even renamed places there in its own maps. Its ambition is to somehow sever the north-eastern states from India. This corridor, known globally as the Siliguri Corridor, is seen by China as India’s weak link. On one side are Bhutan and Nepal, and on the other lies Bangladesh. You might recall that in 2017, China entered Bhutan and attempted to build a road in Doklam near this corridor. Indian soldiers bravely thwarted this attempt. China has always claimed Doklam as its own. The standoff that resulted was prolonged, and eventually Chinese troops had to retreat. If China had succeeded in building the road, India could have been placed in a vulnerable position in any future conflict. This very corridor is the main lifeline of India’s military strength on the north-eastern front. During the 1971 war with Pakistan, the airbases in this region played a crucial role. China and Pakistan want to weaken this strength, and in Muhammad Yunus, they have found an ally. If Yunus wants to remain in power, he will need the support of India’s two enemies and he seems ready to go to any extent, even selling out his own country. He has cosied up to the same Pakistani military that raped the daughters of Bangladesh and carried out massacres.

After the change of power in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus has strengthened ties with China. Pakistan is also involved in this triangle, and as part of a conspiracy, Yunus travelled to China where he not only described India’s north-eastern states as landlocked but also declared himself the ‘guardian of the sea’. His real intention seems to be to offer his country as a base for China. Any talk of trade and business is merely a smokescreen to cover the conspiracy. Bangladesh believes that if India has surrounded it from three sides, then it too has surrounded India from three sides. Bangladesh feels that China joining hands with it will increase its strength. Now reports have surfaced that Muhammad Yunus has invited China to build an airbase in Bangladesh. It is believed that China has assured to build this airbase in the Lalmonirhat district of Bangladesh. It has also been decided that a Pakistani company will construct the airbase which means Pakistani spies will be stationed across every inch of Bangladesh. It has already been decided that the Bangladeshi army will be trained by the Pakistani military. There are also reports that China and its companies have promised investments, loans and grants worth around $2.1 billion to Bangladesh. Chinese companies are also likely to bag the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project. Thus, China will not have any difficulty in establishing complete control over Bangladesh.

Now just imagine how dangerous a situation it would be for India if China successfully builds an air base, gains access to the Bay of Bengal and its troops are deployed across Bangladesh in various forms, while the Pakistani army and ISI begin executing their plans. China has already been fuelling insurgency in India’s North-East on a massive scale. In the recent unrest in Manipur, most of the weapons recovered were Chinese. China has been funding and arming numerous insurgent groups in the North-East for years.
In essence, a conspiracy is unfolding to weaken India from within, and at the right time, strike simultaneously at the borders. This may sound like an exaggeration to some, but given the past behaviour of China and Pakistan, such fears seem very real. India undoubtedly faces many challenges, but the country is currently in capable hands that know how to tackle them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Muhammad Yunus a stern warning during their meeting in Thailand. We have a powerful trio of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Ajit Doval, who know how to deal with such conspiracies. S Jaishankar is the Chanakya of diplomacy. And our brave soldiers have the strength to crush any enemy, anywhere in the world.

The author is the chairman,  Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.