China criticizing US influence in South Asia

Chinese analysts and military leaders are getting bolder in criticizing what Beijing perceives as rising American 'interference' in China's ties with India, Pakistan and South Asia. The Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, ended its editorial silence on the tension with India over China's Kashmir policy on Tuesday, with its first piece on the dispute blaming the 'US disguised hand behind China-Pakistan relations'. The editorial accused the US of 'twisting facts of China's aid to Pakistan' and trying to 'fan up a donation race' between India and China. Opinion pieces in the newspaper are published after approval from Communist Party officials.

The columnist claimed the US was 'colluding' with India to ensure its comeback to the region. China has always eyed the US influence in South Asia with suspicion. "The US complains that China is not transparent. We think that the US is not transparent at all in South Asia," Zhao Gancheng, director of South Asia studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies told the press.

In August, Chinese major-general Luo Yuan accused the US of 'gunboat diplomacy' and 'bullying the weak'. "Things become worse with the involvement of the US," he said.