Jagannath Panda was quoted by the South China Morning Post on why China may find it hard to play peacemaker in India-Pakistan conflict
May 8, 2025: Jagannath Panda, Head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, was quoted by the South China Morning Post on why China may find it hard to play peacemaker in India-Pakistan conflict.
“China have always maintained an ambivalent position on Kashmir issue while being aligned strategically towards Pakistan. But what is important to note is that Beijing will be caught in a delicate position to respond and support outrightly Pakistan on the current tension factoring terrorism between India and Pakistan. China faces concerns as well as threats from radical outfits of the Uyghurs which has a stronger linkages with some of the terrorist outfits that are being operated and sponsored by Pakistan from its soil. So, China will be caught in a delicate situation not to overreact to India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ against the Pakistani sponsored terrorist outfits. In fact, China’s response to the ‘Operation Sindoor’ will test the character of Beijing if it still wants to improve China-India relations vis-a-vis Pakistan.”
“Beijing takes a stronger yet selective position on countering terrorism related resolutions at the UN. At the same time, China’s stance on terrorism worldwide, particularly in global south, are quite measured and non-convincing due to China’s stronger connection with the Islamic countries worldwide. World at large, particularly India, will expect that China shows a stronger willingness to deal with terrorism as a P-5 country of the UNSC. Given China’s long-drawn strategic interest on Kashmir affairs, Beijing will continue to take a side to support Islamabad on the current India-Pakistan tension and it shouldn’t surprise New Delhi.”