New Delhi: China’s state-run Global Times Monday published an article by an unknown “international relations scholar” that was highly critical of Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, only to withdraw the English version hours later while retaining the one in Chinese.
Chinese diplomatic sources told ThePrint that the article was a “private view” and not reflective of the stance of the Chinese government.
The op-ed, titled ‘India’s diplomacy has a ‘S. Jaishankar problem’’, was written by one Wang Daming, who claims to be an international affairs relations expert.
The piece took aim at Jaishankar’s remarks on 31 August at a media forum in Delhi where he said the world has a “general China problem” and India was not the only country debating how to deal with Beijing.
“Go to Europe, and ask them what is among their major economic or national security debates today. It is about China. Look at the United States (of America). It is obsessed with China, and rightly so in many ways,” Jaishankar had said.
He added that India’s problem with China was distinct due to the four-year border standoff.
This is the first time Wang Daming has written for the Global Times. ThePrint was unable to independently verify the writer’s credentials as an international relations scholar.
Aadil Brar, a journalist working in Taiwan, remarked in a post on X that the name appeared to be a pseudonym, “making the whole affair even more bizarre”.
The name appears to be a pseudonym, making the whole affair even more bizarre. But it's a standard practice when the officials wants to share official view without a byline.
— Aadil Brar (@aadilbrar) September 9, 2024
But it’s a standard practice when the officials want to share an official view without a byline, he added.
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‘National interest not Jaishankar’s priority’
The now-deleted opinion piece makes a number of accusations against India’s foreign minister, including that he is not prioritising India’s “national interest” and that he has “set tricks” on many countries with his diplomatic strategies.
The op-ed also called Jaishankar’s remarks last month “shocking”, revealing his “envy, jealousy and hate” towards Beijing.
This comes after Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met twice this July, first on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of State summit in Kazakhstan and then at an ASEAN meeting in Laos.
“As minister of external affairs, Jaishankar’s priority seems not to be national interests…The momentum in improving China-India relations might have also made Jaishankar afraid. On one hand, it suggests that the diplomatic strategy he has led over the past four years might have been flawed and is now being gradually adjusted. On the other hand, he is concerned about pleasing the US…,” the article stated.
“It is always difficult to prove the authenticity or falsification of the high-profile statements made by Jaishankar on China. They are quite deceptive in the field of international public opinion,” it added.
The op-ed also made comparisons between Jaishankar’s style of diplomacy and that of Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. “The diplomatic strategies and tactics he (Jaishankar) led were full of tricks — they had neither the moral sense of Jawaharlal Nehru’s diplomacy nor the ethical sense of Indira Gandhi’s diplomacy. India’s diplomacy under the guidance of Jaishankar has set tricks on all countries, and what it has ultimately gained is other countries’ tricks on India,” it said.
The article also took potshots at Jaishankar joining the Tata Group post his retirement from the Indian Foreign Service, after which he joined as a minister in the second term of the Narendra Modi government.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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The article echoes Congress views and that’s very discomforting. Looks like Congress and China nexus is coming out in the open!