Rahul Gandhi lauds China's 'strategic vision' amid LAC faceoff, warns 'India will suffer'

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi stirred controversy on Tuesday by lauding China's "clear strategic vision" amid the faceoff at the Line of Actual Control. Addressing a press briefing at the Congress headquarters, he claimed that China was exploiting India's alleged lack of strategic goals. Citing the 2017 Doklam standoff and the current LAC situation, he warned that China would hurt India if the Centre doesn't formulate a clear military, economic and geopolitical strategy.

Reiterating his charge that China has occupied Indian territory, he accused the Union government of seeking to deal with the LAC faceoff via "event management". Maintaining that China believes in domination, the Wayanad MP predicted that the country will have to bear the consequences owing to the Centre's purported inaction. Moreover, Gandhi alleged that PM Modi had failed in his duty to safeguard India. Earlier in the day, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju rebutted the ex-Congress chief's charge of China constructing a village in Arunachal Pradesh by pointing out that the area in question has been under Chinese occupation for long. 

Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi remarked, "China is understanding India's weakness. China has a clear strategic vision. It wants to shape the world. India has no strategic vision. India does not take strategic steps. China has tested India twice- in Doklam and now in Ladakh. If India does not give a clear message to China, if India doesn't form a clear strategy whether it is military strategy, economic strategy, or geopolitical strategy, China will not stay quiet. China will take advantage of this. When it takes advantage, India will suffer. Then, you will not be able to stop it."

"That's why I am repeatedly raising a red flag that they have entered our territory. You feel that you can manage this through event management. This is your misconception. China wants to dominate and works systematically. Speaking against me is not going to help. You are not doing your job of safeguarding the country. India will have to bear the consequences. You cannot run away from reality," he added.

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LAC faceoff

The faceoff at the Line of Actual Control was exacerbated when 21 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, when the de-escalation process was underway. This was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August. Multiple rounds of military commander-level and WMCC meetings have taken place between the two sides to resolve the crisis. Besides this, EAM S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnah Singh have met their respective counterparts. 

The 20th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) took place on December 18. The developments along the LAC were reviewed and both sides agreed to work towards ensuring complete disengagement as per the agreements reached between the respective Foreign Ministers and Special Representatives. Furthermore, they acknowledged that the 7th and 8th round of military commander-level talks had contributed to ensuring "stability on the ground". While a consensus was reached on holding another meeting of senior military commanders, it has not been formally scheduled yet. 

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