As 'positive' talks with India go nowhere, China grows apprehensive of US influence

Nearly a fortnight after the 14th round of corps commander level talks between India and China on the situation along the Line of Actual Control, China hit out at the US, claiming that it would not brook third-party interference.

The US had, a day before the talks, expressed concern about Beijing's destabilising behaviour and attempts to intimidate its neighbours. The comments were made by President Joe Biden's press secretary Jan Psaki at a briefing, in which she also stressed that the US would continue to stand with its partners.

On Thursday, a senior colonel and spokesperson of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) hit out against the American comments, saying China was firmly opposed to the US using coercive diplomacy with other countries.

Why is China invoking the US in its bilateral issues with India? China claims that the last round of talks was positive and constructive. The joint declaration at the end of the talks says that the two sides agreed to remain in close contact and to maintain dialogue to work out a mutually acceptable resolution.

That is a lot of words. The truth behind these words is that the talks have reached stagnation. Though the last round of talks went on for 13 hours, there was no forward movement in resolving the disengagement at Hot Springs areas, which was the main point of the meeting. On the plus side, these talks were in a better atmosphere than the previous ones held in October.

Two long winters in the bleak trans Himalayan region of Ladakh have been tough for both armies. The repeated rounds of talks, which aren't leading anywhere, are also getting frustrating. Amid this, China is getting antsy about India's robust partnership with the US; it has made its opinions about the Quad and Indo Pacific clear on several occasions. China considers the Indo-Pacific to be a concept created to keep it out of the region and believes that the Quad has military intentions. The formation of the AUKUS trilateral (Australia, US and US), which is most definitely a military tie-up, hasn't come as good news to China, either.

China has been provoking India in many ways. It renamed some villages in Arunachal Pradesh and built a bridge over a disputed section of the Pangong Lake. But India is maintaining restraint. Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had reacted saying that giving invented names to some villages did not change the reality that these were part of India. He noted China had conducted a similar renaming exercise in 2017, also.

The US, for which China is a direct threat and competitor in the global might sphere, is playing up its new, robust bilateral with India. This helps India, which, in the past, has found itself rather isolated in its battles with neighbours. China would be wary of an act of outright aggression. But it can certainly provoke and annoy India in many ways. Also, when the US comments on the eve of a talk, China feels it has to retaliate, even if that retaliation comes over a fortnight later.

Will this side-drama affect the outcome of the ongoing border talks between India and China? Given the minimal progress in this area, that is anyone's guess.