China’s Territorial Greed – Threat to World Peace?

By: N.S.Venkataraman.

Since 1980s, in the last four decades, China has recorded spectacular industrial and economic growth. Several multinational companies have invested several billion dollars in China to set up projects, which happened due to the imaginative and proactive policy of the Government of China. Aided by the investment and technology from multinational companies, China gained immensely. China is now well-recognised as one of the world’s economic superpowers.

With the economic power, China is also expanding its military capability and its present annual military budget is around 2030 billion USD.

Unfortunately, along with the economic and industrial growth, China’s territorial greed has also increased to an alarming level. To achieve its territorial greed, China is using its military and economic power. This is now causing concern worldwide.

Chinese leaders appear to have such territorial greed deep in their mindset and this is now becoming more visible.

Case study Tibet

In the 1950s, China forcibly occupied Tibet and massacred thousands of protesting Tibetans brutally.  In the last few decades after China’s unethical occupation of Tibet, China has been trying to destroy the Tibetan culture and traditional practices and brainwash the youth, as if Tibet is only an extended territory of China.  While China took over Tibet militarily, there was no significant protest in the world and this encouraged China to move on with its territorial greed adventures.

Case study India

After this occupation of Tibet, in 1962, China waged a war against India and occupied thousands of kilometres of Indian territory, which it is continuing to hold under its control till now. India has around  3500-kilometre length of land in China border which China calls a disputed territory,  and wants to occupy.  Frequently, China has been trying to intrude into Indian territory and it is reported in the media that in the year 2020, a large area of Ladakh region has been taken over by the Chinese army. Further, not satisfied with so much occupation of Indian land, China now demands that Arunachal Pradesh in India should be part of the Tibet region, now occupied by China.

To conceal its territorial greed, China often talks about peace with India and mischievously says that  “India and China share far more common interest than differences”  and says that bilateral relations between both countries should be strengthened. However, the territorial greed of China is now too blatant to be concealed.

Case study – Taiwan

China claims that Taiwan should be part of China, which is thoroughly unjustified.  There was a civil war in China when the communists occupied most parts of China except the Taiwan region. It was forcible occupation by China. Under the circumstances, the ground reality is that while the Chinese leaders claim that Taiwan should be part of mainland China, certainly, the government of Taiwan can legitimately claim that mainland China should be part of Taiwan.

In its territorial greed to grab Taiwan, China is threatening to invade Taiwan at any moment. The recent news is that China has sent 38 warplanes and 6 navy vessels to areas near Taiwan.

Case study – South China Sea:

Apart from the above territorial greed acts of China, it is laying claims on the South China Sea, Senkaku Island, which is creating tension with the Philippines, Japan and other neighbouring countries.

It is a matter of concern now that China is planning to have military installations on Co Co Island in Myanmar.

Economic domination:

Apart from such military-oriented aggressive tactics, China has effectively brought countries like Pakistan, and North Korea under its control,  exploiting the economic and other weaknesses of these countries.  Sri Lanka is also now facing a threat of going down under China’s grip due to its excessive dependence on China for infrastructure projects and the consequent debt burden,  which has forced Sri Lanka to undergo the humiliation of handing over Hambantota port to China on 99 years lease. The fact is that Sri Lanka has now virtually no control over the activities of China in Hambantota port.

China – A threat to world peace :

While most countries in the world are concerned about the territorial greed of China, it is strange that China has offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia to end the Ukraine war. This is like the devil quoting scripture.

China emerging as an economic superpower in the world has resulted in a situation, where it competes with the USA in economic superpower status. The USA is all the time trying to extend its influence over other countries in the world and now China too is trying to do the same.  But, the difference is that the USA is extending its influence without territorial greed and this is not so in the case of China.

It appears that the ultimate result of China’s territorial greed would inevitably result in disturbing peace in the world.  It appears that the ambition of Adolf Hitler and the Chinese President does not seem to be different.

Venkataraman is a trustee with the “Nandini Voice for the Deprived,” a not-for-profit organisation that aims to highlight the problems of downtrodden and deprived people and supports their cause. To promote probity and ethical values in private and public life and to deliberate on socio-economic issues dispassionately and objectively.

The Views expressed in this article are that of the author’s and should not be attributed to Tibet Express.