Global Alliance to Hedge Against China

The border clash with India near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley where it lost 20 of its military personnel in a brawl with their Chinese counterparts was a turning point in the political and diplomatic relations of the two nuclear-armed regional powers. Ever since, the Indian government has been one of the pioneers of the QUAD alliance comprising India, the United States, Japan and Australia to counter what is called growing Chinese profile in the South China Sea(SCS) and the Pacific Ocean.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Beijing has made provocative and threatening moves to test the reaction of regional powers in the SCS, Indian Ocean as well as the Taiwan Straits. It is also due to domestic tensions and disenchantment at a time of slowing economy, criticism about the handling of the pandemic virus and rising unemployment with a growing fear that multilateral corporations might close their production plants in China.

To divert attention from domestic matters, the communist party cleverly uses the military to generate a sense of nationalism. As the rest of the world is trying to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic Beijing is using this weakened global state to make new geopolitical gains. This opportunistic naval and territorial manoeuvring was, arguably, a miscalculation of the communist party. The world reacted quite rapidly and now have, by and large, turned the tide against PRC.

India’s latest decision to form the Quadrilateral Alliance is largely due to Chinese aggression in Ladakh, a desolate high-altitude territory in the Himalayas. This ostensibly ill-calculated Chinese action has further strengthened the Indo-US ties

In addition, in a retaliatory measure, India has challenged China on multiple fronts by tightening its foreign direct investment laws specifically aimed at Chinese businesses, supported the call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19, and Indian representation with the presence of two Indian MPs at the swearing-in ceremony of President Tsai Ing-wen in May 2020 who has staunchly refused to consider Taiwan as part of the mainland.

Over the years, the India-Taiwan bilateral trade and diplomatic relations have expanded markedly. On the bilateral trade, from a base of US$1 billion in 2000, it has grown to US$7.5 billion in 2019. Diplomatically, India has allowed Taipei to set up offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai in 2018. The recent Indo-China deadly clash at the Galwan Valley over which Beijing claims sovereignty, will arguably, push India to expand its level of cooperation with Taiwan.

In another development, the legislators and former politicians that represent parties across the political spectrum, have spearheaded formation of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. The aim of the alliance that represents eight democracies and the European Union is to exert pressure on their respective governments to adopt tougher measures against China. The alliance believes that a stronger stance is needed to protect democratic values from an aggressive and expansionist PRC.

Formation of the global alliance comes at a time when tension between China and major world powers is rising rapidly. The bone of contention so far has been the introduction of draconian laws in Hong Kong where the “One Country Two Laws” system seems to have been abolished; the origin of COVID-19 pandemic, which has paralysed the world; technology firm Huawei’s investment in many countries and its link to Chinese security forces as well as China’s mass incarceration of Muslim minorities in its far-west Xinjiang region.

Against this backdrop, China has accused the US for creating a new cold war front. It has also warned the UK of negative “consequences” for offering citizenship to Hong Kong residents in response to Beijing’s harsh and heavy-handed new security laws which tacitly calls the agreement between the two countries null and void. China’s recent bellicosity has undermined the belief that as the country became wealthier, it would open up politically.

According to the new inter-parliamentary alliance on China, “the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China has been created to promote a coordinated response between democratic states to challenges posed by the present conduct and future ambitions of the People’s Republic of China. By developing a common set of principles and frameworks that transcend domestic party divisions and international borders, our democracies will be able to keep the rules-based and human rights systems true to their founding purposes.”

Formation of new coalitions to hedge against China’s growing footprint in various parts of the world is a clear manifestation of incongruency of Chinese communist ideology with the rest of the democratic world. The common belief that is brewing amongst other powers is that PRC intends to challenge the rest of the world politically, economically and even militarily, should the need arise. Thus, it has to be curtailed by all possible means before it is too late and become uncontrollable.

 From Beijing’s perspective, however, the outdated and decadent western global order has lost its efficacy and applicability in the current world of advanced technology and globalisation. Thus, a Chinese-led new global order, which is an amalgamation of capitalism and communism will address future global ills. It is due to these grand ideational strategies that PRC is expanding its global reach in an unprecedented and rapid manner. Whether China can become a global hegemon and lead the way in every sphere of life and challenge the current western set up depends on time.   

Picture Courtesy- BhaskarHindi.com

(Dr Saber Salem is a Doctoral Research Fellow with the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University. His areas of interests are Pacific region, climate change, climate migration and foreign aid diplomacy.The views expressed are personal.)