General's warning is timely

China on Thursday sought to arraign India’s Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat for his recent comment that India should be prepared for a “two-front war” and that Beijing had begun “flexing its muscle”. But the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman who wore the mantle of victimhood appears to have a convenient memory, and asks if Gen. Rawat has top-level clearance to express those views. Beijing ranted and raved and threatened India right through the Doklam military sit-out, with its English-language media outfits dutifully transmitting every syllable of the venomous script. Was that sanctioned by President Xi Jinping? The small-minded nasty theatrics intensified after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj spoke of the sincere need for a diplomatic resolution.Officials of the People’s Republic simply can’t comprehend that in a democracy, a top military commander can make a professional evaluation of threat perceptions in the course of a lecture, as Gen. Rawat did. For this he does not need permission from on high - as may be usual in an authoritarian setup - as this isn’t a street square airing of policy. The Chinese spokesman’s concern was that Gen. Rawat spoke soon after President Xi told PM Modi in Beijing that China and India represented opportunities for one another, not threats. We hear those fine words, yet it’s imprudent to let down our guard.

China’s rise is being watched with wariness all round. Gen. Rawat spoke of being prepared for “salami slicing” by China, its tendency for creeping expansionism, and its tendency to gang-up on India with “all-weather friend” Pakistan. Hardly anyone will disagree.