China remains as inscrutable as ever, even as the Winter Olympics in Beijing February 4-20 has virtually turned into a political war of attrition between China and Russia on one side and the USA and its allies on the other. India, which two months back announced it would support the games when the US-led diplomatic boycott was being formulated, is now forced to join the boycott bandwagon. What China has done to India is indeed adding insult to injury that left India with no other option. It does not make any sense for China to further politicise the already politicised mega event by making a commander, involved in the 2020 border clashes with India at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, an Olympic torchbearer in the customary torch relay leading up to the Games. The last-minute boycott leading to India’s top envoy in Beijing sitting out the opening ceremony added a new twist to the politics over the Games after the Western nations had launched their own diplomatic absence in protest against China’s human rights record. No wonder the spokesperson of India’s Minister of External Affairs articulated the government’s stand that “it is indeed regrettable the Chinese side has chosen to politicise an event like the Olympics.” He also announced the top diplomat at the Indian Embassy in Beijing would not be attending the opening or the closing ceremony.
It was indeed humiliating for India to watch People’s Liberation Army (PLA) commander Qi Fabao being honoured as one of 1,200 people to bear the Olympic torch as it moved across the Olympic competition zones in the lead-up to the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Chinese basketball superstar and former NBA player Yao Ming and astronaut Jing Haipeng were among other honourees to carry the flame alongside Qi on the relay’s opening day. China cannot plead ignorance of the political implication of Qi being a torchbearer as the latter has been hailed a hero in China for his role of fighting in the deadly 2020 India-China skirmish in the Himalayan region that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Qi sustained a head wound during the fighting. China admitted four PLA soldiers had lost their lives in the hostilities, though later reports suggest the casualties on the Chinese side were higher. The inclusion of Qi among the Olympic torchbearers has been rightly taken exception to by India which has accused China of politicising an event meant to be a ‘peaceful competition’ among nations.
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The reaction by prominent Chinese commentator Hu Xijin, former editor of the nationalist state-owned tabloid the Global Times, is one more exercise in obfuscation by China. He hit back on India writing on Twitter: “What I saw from it (Qi’s participation in the games ceremony) was a call for China-India border peace and call for world peace. What’s wrong with this?” He will obviously not find fault with the Chinese position.
Playing politics with the Olympic Games is nothing new and is an offshoot of the super-power rivalry between the USA and erstwhile USSR. This time it is the US President Joe Biden who decided to continue with the tactic in a new form by announcing a diplomatic boycott of the event by taking exception to human rights violations of the minorities in China. This symbolic act meant the sportspersons of the countries involved in the boycott will not be deprived of the opportunity to show their skill before international competitors, but the countries would not send any delegation to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. The very nature of the form of protest drew criticism from many as it is nothing more than symbolic. It was even pointed out that Biden resorted to this tactic to boost his sagging morale following the flawed withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and his popularity curve going down in his country.
The cause of sports and games suffered further when the conflict between Russia on the one hand and the USA and the European Union (EU) countries on the other over the massing of Russian troops along the borders of Ukraine was dragged into the Beijing Olympics arena. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hogged the limelight of the inauguration in the midst of diplomatic boycott by a host of countries. The two made the most of the opportunity by holding a meeting on the sidelines of the Games and accused the USA and its allies of ‘politicising’ the event by interfering with China’s domestic affairs, meaning the situation in Xinjiang where Uyghur Moslems are being allegedly persecuted and its handling of Hong Kong and Tibet. As if this is not enough, China’s foreign minister said Russia’s arguments for mobilising its forces along Ukraine’s borders are worth considering while the Russian side, in its official statement, has categorically supported China on its stand on the independence of Taiwan as not being an acceptable fact. This means Russia and China have closed ranks to take on the USA. Russia fears Ukraine will be included in the NATO group under the leadership of the USA which will pose a direct threat to it. By a queer turn of international politics, the USA has become the common foe of Russia and China. The stakes are so high for China that it appears to have deliberately overlooked the fact that it has economic interests in Ukraine. Of course, Putin has announced during his stay in Beijing that Russia would supply gas to China. This and the advantage of getting Russia on its side in its fight with the USA seems to have far outweighed the benefits China gets from Ukraine.
The tit for tat politics by China and Russia to safeguard their respective interests is only expected. But, rubbing India up the wrong way by including Qi is a clear indication by China that it does not bother about its southern neighbour. This is especially so when the two countries are still engaged in border talks and disengagement. Perhaps China wants to send the message across to India that it has not taken kindly India’s bonhomie with the USA and its allies in the latter’s strategy of checkmating China’s influence in the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific regions. The idea, it appears, is to bring home to India that when it can confront the USA, it can trifle with India. India needs to give a befitting answer to China, if it wants to prove wrong the image being sought to be created by China that it is scared and is cowering before the Red Dragon.
