At one point, India must stop regarding China solely through its staunch support of Pakistan
The National Day celebrations of Pakistan on March 23 rarely evoke interest among people beyond the confines of its borders. However, reports of a set of Chinese J-10 fighter jets’ arrival in Islamabad for a fly-past, as part of the celebrations, have forced India to focus on its deeper significance.
The J-10 fighter jets are part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s Bayi Aerobatic Team. It has performed earlier in Balochistan in 2017. But, trailing the slipstream of India- Pakistan tension in the past month and China’s recent action in the United Nations at Pakistan’s behest, this year’s acrobatic manoeuvres take place in a piquant atmosphere.
Pakistan has been chafing under an Indian diplomatic onslaught ever since the Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the February 14 ‘fidayeen’ attack on a CRPF convoy that killed 40 personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Consequently, on February 27, India carried out an airstrike deep inside Pakistani territory in Balakot, where the JeM’s training facilities were located. When Pakistani fighter jets entered Indian airspace the next day and tried to target Indian military installations, they were driven away by the Indian Air Force, which lost a fighter jet after shooting down a Pakistani F16. Troops on both sides of the border have been put on high alert ever since, marking yet another sharp spike in tensions in bilateral ties.
This being the lurid backdrop of the arrival of the PLA’s J-10 fighter jets in Pakistan, what kind of signal does Beijing intend to send, especially when New Delhi is making all efforts to isolate Islamabad at the international level?
This story is from the April 01, 2019 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 01, 2019 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Propaganda Files
A recent spate of Hindi films distorts facts and creates imaginary villains. Century-old propaganda cinema has always relied on this tactic
Will Hindutva Survive After 2024?
The idealogy of Hindutva faces a challenge in staying relevant
A Terrific Tragicomedy
Paul Murray's The Bee Sting is a tender and extravagant sketch of apocalypse
Trapped in a Template
In the upcoming election, more than the Congress, the future of the Gandhi family is at stake
IDEOLOGY
Public opinion will never be devoid of ideology: but we shall destroy ourselves without philosophical courage
The Many Kerala Stories
How Kerala responded to the propaganda film The Kerala Story
Movies and a Mirage
Previously portrayed as a peaceful paradise, post-1990s Kashmir in Bollywood has become politicised
Lights, Cinema, Politics
FOR eight months before the 1983 state elections in undivided Andhra Pradesh, a modified green Chevrolet van would travel non-stop, except for the occasional pit stops and food breaks, across the state.
Cut, Copy, Paste
Representation of Muslim characters in Indian cinema has been limited—they are either terrorists or glorified individuals who have no substance other than fixed ideas of patriotism
The Spectre of Eisenstein
Cinema’s real potency to harness the power of enchantment might want to militate against its use as a servile, conformist propaganda vehicle