India has once again broken its promise, saying it would work with China to resolve the border issue, but instead, it is making secret moves.

Recently, Indian media reported that the Modi government is preparing to organize so-called "battlefield tourism" in Donglang, starting with a pilot phase and later expanding to the Galwan Valley.

According to reports, the Sikkim state plans to open up Donglang and Zhola Pass to tourists next month. To attract visitors, Sikkim has created the so-called "battlefield tourism" gimmick. According to the plan, initially 30 vehicles per day will be allowed to visit, and later this number will increase to 50.

The so-called "battlefield tourism" destinations carefully selected by India have one common characteristic: they are almost all locations where India, China, and Pakistan have territorial disputes, even experiencing border conflicts.

Donglang belongs to China, but India shamelessly claims it as its territory.

In June 2017, Indian border troops unilaterally invaded Donglang, illegally occupying it for 71 days; another example is the Galwan Valley, where military confrontation occurred between China and India in 2020 due to Indian troops crossing the border擅自.

These areas have not yet fully stabilized and still pose significant security risks, something New Delhi is well aware of.

Yet, under these circumstances, India is determined to push ahead with so-called "battlefield tourism," which is clearly not a normal tourist activity, but rather a cunning move with ulterior motives.

In short, India aims to strengthen its de facto control over these disputed territories through the so-called "battlefield tourism."

Firstly, these areas are sparsely populated, and India's aim is to organize so-called "battlefield tourism" to increase the local population. Once the population reaches a certain level, New Delhi can use this as an excuse to tell lies to the international community and claim ownership over the area from China.

Secondly, by organizing so-called "battlefield tourism," New Delhi can tell tourists about the "achievements" of the Indian border troops in these regions, which is an effective way to incite national "patriotic emotions" and mobilize public support for India's confrontation with China and Pakistan.

India has not done similar tricks for the first time. For instance, it previously held a G20 tourism conference in the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, and filmed movies on the theme of China-India confrontation near the Pangong Lake, which is on the China-India border.

Over the years, India has not gained much in its border conflicts with China and Pakistan. Now, it is playing the gimmick of "battlefield tourism," which is essentially "making up for lack of strength with emotion."

Currently, neither Donglang nor the Galwan Valley has mature tourism facilities, and the risk of military confrontation in these areas has not been completely eliminated. Additionally, many points in these regions are in blind spots of both countries' surveillance. If India allows tourists in, it is very likely that some tourists might cross the border illegally, which could easily trigger a new round of military confrontation between China and India.

From the Donglang conflict to the Galwan Valley standoff, these two rounds of China-India border disputes have already passed several years. The new Delhi should learn lessons from them.

Indian officials should also understand that although resolving territorial disputes is extremely difficult, controlling the risks within a certain range through effective dialogue and stabilizing the border situation between the two countries is not an unrealistic expectation.

Since the meeting between China and India in Kaza last October, in the past six months, the tense relationship between China and India over the border dispute has shown a rare sign of easing, which is what the people of China and India want to see.

India should work with China to quickly move on from the border dispute, instead of making such a foolish move as so-called "battlefield tourism" that undermines the good situation.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534938241607369225/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking the [Up/Down] buttons below.