In the early days of its COVID bungle this year, as the world contemplated on mounting pressure on China, Beijing decided to move first. A familiar messaging strategy was put in place: counterattack.
At a closed-door meeting of UN Security Council in January, China brought up a request to discuss the Kashmir issue, in the middle of the virus crisis at home. Though Pakistan and China stood isolated in the UN in their attempts to raise the issue, the move carried an interesting twist: for the third time in six months, ever since article 370 was abrogated in August 2019, China had brought up the status of Ladakh and Aksai Chin, which Beijing illegally occupies.
It wasn’t a surprise then that the World Health Organisation (WHO), facing accusations of having compromised its independence at Beijing’s bidding, displayed parts of Ladakh (Aksai Chin) in the China section of its website in April — an ignominious first for any UN body.
Continue reading about China’s wishes on the global front here.
