The former prime minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, is among the few world leaders who have looked Xi Jinping in the eye and dealt with him. He claimed that Xi Jinping would increase his bets if he won Taiwan. After that, the Chinese president could focus on smaller conflicts. Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state, is included in this.
During an exclusive conversation with Palki Sharma Upadhyay, WION’s Managing Editor, the former Australian PM decoded the Chinese game plan of expansion.
While answering the question, “How do the Chinese assess India after what happened in the Galwan Valley?,” he replied, “There is a grudging but high degree of respect in the Chinese people’s minds for India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chinese people are also militarily surprised by the Indian military’s pushback and strong clashes on the border in 2020.”
According to Kevin Rudd, “What permanently puzzles the Chinese is how a country of 1.3 billion people can be a robust democracy given that their only historical script in their mind is that it has to be autocratic.”
He also said that China recognises India as an ancient civilization, and it is quite respectful of democracy under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Talking about Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, he said that “Pelosi’s visit meant fooling around with the One-China policy and that Taiwan is less secure after her visit.”
Twenty Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were killed in a confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops on June 15, 2020.
The conflict is a part of a larger border standoff between the two forces on the Line of Actual Control near the Galwan River and has not yet been resolved.
There is broad consensus among members of the Indian strategic community that the border conflict heralds an irreversible downturn in India-China relations.
(With inputs from agencies)
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