India must re-evaluate ties with US after EEZ trespass: Chinese media

After it said that disengagement in remaining areas in eastern Ladakh is going to be challenging, the Chinese official media wants India to re-evaluate its ties with the US following the trespass last week into India’s EEZ by a US warship and to avoid any “illusion” about Washington.

“Historical experience tells us that the US is a country which can turn its back on any ally, let alone India, to pursue national interests,” said the hawkish Global Times, looking to milk the outrage in India over the conduct of the US warship.

Noting that India conveyed its concerns to the US only two days after the US Navy transit, the mouthpiece said there were domestic voices in India arguing their country’s response was soft. Claiming that India was earlier vigilant towards Washington’s military presence and activities in the Indian Ocean region, the Global Times said in recent years, to cope with China’s rise, India has tended to become more tolerant of US naval operations.


“But the US has always attempted to maintain its global hegemony. Given the strategic position of the Indian Ocean, the US will not easily discard its hegemony there, nor will it tolerate any country to share the hegemony with it. This will lead to frictions in strategic interests between the two countries," said the article.

“To secure global hegemony and maintain the expansive operational scope of its navy, Washington has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea yet. Under the banner of ‘freedom of navigation’, it is common for US warships to trespass into the territorial waters or EEZs of other countries, including China," it added.

Another piece in Global Times had said a day earlier that the fact that the two sides had not issued a joint statement after the military talks last week suggested disengagement in remaining areas in eastern Ladakh was going to be challenging. Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong had said recently that the disengagement in Pangong area was conducive to building mutual trust and further easing the situation on the ground. The publication quoted an observer to say though that some Indians have a "delusion of colluding" with the US, particularly with the US military, over the border dispute and playing "smart" despite reaching agreements, and this kind of move could damage the restoration of military trust between China and India.