China supports rebel Maoists: Indian official
- Source: Global Times
- [03:14 November 10 2009]
- Comments
By Zuo Xuan
A high-level Indian official indicated Sunday that China is a major source of small weapons for a Maoist insurgent group that harasses the country, according to the Indo-Asian News Service.
"The Chinese are big smugglers ... suppliers of small arms. I am sure that the Maoists also get them," Home Secretary G K Pillai said when asked if the Naxals had links with China, the India news agency reported.
The home secretary, however, added that the Indian government has no information on whether the suspected weapons are from the Chinese government or arms smugglers. Neither did he erase the possibility that the weapons are from a third country, and not directly from China.
"The Chinese government imposes very strict control on the trade of small weapons," Ma Jiali, a specialist in South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times. "But even so, the weapons exported through legal channels may be grabbed or bought by illegal groups from a third party – and that is not controllable by China."
"The smuggling of small weapons will be severely punished in China. It is unlikely that the weapons have been leaked to the Maoists in India with the knowledge of the Chinese government," Ma added.
This is the first time that the Indian government has claimed the Maoists' weapons are from China. Zhao Gancheng, director of South Asian studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said the accusation may signify that bilateral relations are in real trouble.
Mohan Bhagwat, chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, one of the world largest volunteer organizations based in India, said Sunday that the peace gestures from China were a camouflage to gain time and it could "turn hostile" at any time, the Hindustan Times reported.
"China can turn hostile at any convenient time. ... We should not be complacent and always remain in a state of preparedness to meet any eventuality," he said, addressing a congregation in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
Despite protests by China, the Dalai Lama began a four-day trip to the disputed southern Tibet on Sunday, stirring anti-China sentiment in his wake.
Agencies contributed to this story
