On his recent visit to Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an obvious reference to China, (though without naming it) said, “the age of expansionism is over”.
Modi on Friday declared, “The age of expansionism is over. In the centuries gone by, it was expansionism that hurt humanity the most and sought to destroy it. Those who are driven by expansionism have always proved a danger to the world. History bears testimony to the fact that expansionist forces have either been destroyed or forced to turn back. It is due to this experience that the world is coming together against expansionist forces.”
Soon after this speech by Modi, the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in India, Ji Rong, denied that China is expansionist, and said that such a claim was “exaggerated and fabricated”.
But is Modi's statement untrue?
In my article The Chinese are today’s Nazis; Indian govt mustn’t appease them, I have given details of Chinese expansionism. Ji Rong and the Chinese Foreign Ministry should reply to these details, instead of giving a generalised response that the prime minister's statement is “exaggerated and fabricated”.
As pointed out in my article, today, China has penetrated deeply into the economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as of the developed countries. China is today undoubtedly an imperialist expansionist force like Nazi Germany, and like the Nazis in the 1930s and early 1940s, it is the greatest danger to world peace. Its Belt and Road Initiative is really aimed at seeking expansion.
Like imperialists, the Chinese are hungrily seeking to capture the markets and raw materials of all countries. Mountainous areas like Tibet and Ladakh may appear barren, like Siberia. But like Siberia, they are full of valuable minerals and other natural wealth. That is the real reason why Chinese troops intruded into Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Hot Springs, Demchok, Five Fingers and other places and will undoubtedly seek to penetrate further into Ladakh, unless stopped.
For instance, China has penetrated deeply into the Pakistani economy, and is using the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for this purpose. Balochistan's huge natural resources of gas, gold, coal, copper, sulphur and other material have been handed over to the Chinese by the Pakistan authorities, causing deep resentment among the Baloch people, who are kept poor and marginalised. The Pakistani markets are flooded with Chinese goods.
A Pakistan journalist told me recently that the Pakistani media has been told by the government there not to publish or broadcast anything against China. This shows the grip the Chinese have over the Pakistani government.
Prime Minister Modi's speech condemning Chinese expansionism should open the eyes of the whole world, which should unite against Chinese imperialist expansionism. Though one may disapprove of many other things Modi has said or did, on this issue all must unite. By speaking against Chinese expansionism, Modi has spoken like Sir Winston Churchill did against Nazi expansionism.
Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK
