Is India’s security doctrine defined by Chinese bullying, asks Congress

The Congress slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Tianjin, alleging it legitimises Chinese territorial aggression. Jairam Ramesh cited Galwan, border issues, Chinese product dumping, and a hydel project on Yarlung Tsangpo, accusing the government of silence and spinelessness.

New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping during the bilateral meet in Tianjin on Sunday, the Congress party slammed the Centre over its ‘softened stance’ towards China and asked whether the ‘new normal’ in India’s security doctrine will be defined by Chinese aggression and bullying, and the government’s spinelessness.

Congress further accused the Modi government of pushing towards reconciliation with China and asked whether “this meant de facto legitimising their territorial aggression?”

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The Congress party’s criticism came in the backdrop of PM Modi and Xi Jinping’s bilateral meeting in Tianjin, where they pledged to build stable and amicable ties for mutual economic progress and also agreed to further promote people-to-people exchange.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, expressing reservations, said that Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with Xi Jinping must be evaluated in the context of 20 of our bravest of brave jawans sacrificing their lives during Chinese aggression in the Galway Valley in June 2020.

“Rather than identify the Chinese aggression, on June 19, 2020, Prime Minister Modi gave an (infamous) clean chit to China,” he wrote in a post on X while also sharing an old video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress party’s communications in-charge further claimed, “The Army Chief has demanded a full restoration of the status quo on the border with China in Ladakh. Despite failing to achieve that, the Modi Government has pushed forward on reconciliation with China, de facto legitimising their territorial aggression.”

He also cited the statement of Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen Rahul Singh on Operation Sindoor and stated that PM Modi was rewarding China with state visits despite its ‘unholy alliance’ during the military strikes.

“On July 4, 2025, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Rahul Singh, spoke forcefully and candidly on China’s jugalbandi with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. Rather than respond to this unholy alliance, the Modi Government has quietly accepted it as fait accompli and is now rewarding China with state visits,” Ramesh said on X.

Jairam Ramesh further claimed that there was uncontrolled dumping of Chinese products in the country, sounding the death knell for the MSMEs, but the government has given them a free rein, in spite of putting them on a tight leash.

He also questioned the government’s ‘silence’ on the Chinese hydel project on the Yarlung Tsangpo. “China has announced a gigantic hydel project on the Yarlung Tsangpo that has very grave implications for our Northeast. The Modi Government has not spoken a word on this issue,” he claimed.