China claims India's move to drop Mandarin from NEP will hamper bilateral relationship

Following the drop of 'Mandarin' or 'Chinese' language from the foreign language list included in the newly announced National Education police (NEP) by the Indian Government, China has claimed that this move will affect the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Terming the move as 'dangerous' the Chinese side said cultural exchanges form the cornerstone of the bilateral relationship between Beijing and New Delhi, and if the base is sabotaged, relations are likely to deteriorate seriously.

"As the border conflict is yet to subdue, the Indian government now wants to extend the lingering skirmish between the two countries to the education and cultural level, which is very dangerous... Cultural exchanges form the cornerstone of the bilateral relationship between Beijing and New Delhi, and if the base is sabotaged, relations are likely to deteriorate seriously",  Zhao Gancheng, the director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies said castigating the Indian government's move. He was quoted as saying by the Chinese mouthpiece Global Times.

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Mandarin Dropped from NEP

Although Mandarin was included in the draft version of the policy released in May 2019, the recently approved NEP has dropped Mandarin or 'Chinese' from its list of examples of foreign languages that can be taught in schools.

"In addition to high-quality offerings in Indian languages and English, foreign languages, such as Korean, Japanese, Thai, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, will also be offered at the secondary level...," the policy ready.

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India's move came amid the tensions between the two neighbouring countries along the Line of Actual Control that escalated following a face-off on June 15 in the Galwan valley leading to casualties on both sides.

LAC Talks: India - China 5th Meet

In the latest development to the LAC talks, India has made it clear to the China side that it will not accept anything less than status quo ante on the Line of Actual Control, that existed prior to the first week of April this year, as per sources.

On Sunday, as the Corps Commander of the Indian Army and China's Peoples' Liberation Army held the fifth round of meeting, the Indian side is said to have made it clear to the Chinese side that to pave the way for any further dialogue the Chinese side must first move back.

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(With inputs from ANI)