China called India's Foreign Minister a 'problem' as part of political maneuvering amid border tensions

Editor’s Note: This piece by Venus Upadhayaya features quotes from CSP Senior Fellow, Grant Newsham.

NEW DELHI—China’s state media recently targeted India’s Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, calling him a “problem” in India–China relations, in response to Jaishankar’s recent comments about Beijing.

As India and China look to the BRICS summit in Kazan on Oct. 22, analysts say the criticism can be viewed from more than one perspective: as a defensive response to Jaishankar’s forthright public criticism of China, or as part of a “strategic narrative” aiming to further China’s interests overall.

Originally an association of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, BRICS expanded in 2010 to include South Africa and last year opened its doors to the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, and has a long waiting list of countries. India’s tense relationship with China, as the two giant nations work to resolve ongoing border disputes, is sure to be a focus at the upcoming summit.

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Grant Newsham, Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Policy and Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, told The Epoch Times that the Chinese are “offended whenever they are on the receiving end.” It’s an attitude that is typical of totalitarian dictatorships, he said.

“The facts are clear to anybody watching. India is not a threat to China. China is a threat to India. The alignment of political and military perspectives towards [the People’s Republic of China] on the Indian side is notable—and I hope India’s friends in the free world note this—and recognize that India is on the side of the ‘free, humane nations,’” Newsham said.

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