- K* i3 w0 S. a `' K" HChina ‘encircles’ India in Libya9 O+ q1 M( Y, C0 w" x
! @- N$ Q# ]) c8 \1 zAfter all, we are obsessed with comparing ourselves with China all the time, rain or sunshine. Let us see how the Chinese are coping with the repatriation of their nationals from the burning inferno called Libya. China is twice as far away from Libya than India is. Yet, MFA in Beijing says as of today, China has pulled out from Libya 29000 nationals. Vow! That’s 11000 more than the entire Indian expatriate community in Libya. Impossible. China must be fudging figures? No, it’s apparently true.! { Z U4 |" @6 q. I
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How did China manage it? Well, where there is a will, there is always a way. No need to talk to TV, no need to ‘Twitter’, no need of ministerial statements. Just do it. China just relocated its nationals from Libya in the first stage to the neighbouring countries so that they are no longer in immediate danger and on a parallel track the second phase got under way for repatriating them to their home in China. Wasn’t that clever? Seems so. But why doesn’t such bright ideas occur to us Indians? " g) q! V) O4 N; O ; o0 a( V0 A/ n9 Q4 I# [The nearby locations were Greece, Malta and Tunisia principally - all friendly countries toward India, too. We even had a consulate in Malta. By yesterday afternoon, over 10000 Chinese were ferried from Benghazi to Crete island in Greece in 3 Greek vessels chartered by the Chinese embassy in Athens. China knows that countries in the region such as Greece, Cyprus and Turkey are old seafaring nations and they have surplus capacity. It is so much cheaper to charter locally, isn’t it? But then, Chinese are a parsimonious lot, unlike us, big-hearted Indians who don’t mind spending. And so much quicker it is to charter ships from the Mediterranean region. Ever heard of Onassis?- s( y1 ~; t& P( P# y
! g! S% o t% WMeanwhile, chartered flights have been arranged to lift the displaced Chinese from Greece, Malta and Tunisia. Interestingly, China chartered Greek airlines as well. China chose Tunisia because apparently it has become a ‘hot destination’ for foreigners fleeing Libya. We probably didn’t look at the map to discover Tunisia is next-door neighbour to Libya. $ X# H# B6 ~; p$ j7 ^9 K$ ^ . [' u# p! |" j1 O: g0 Z; U( YOf course, Chinese are a courteous people. So, as soon as the evacuation was over, Premier Wen Jiabao personally conveyed through diplomatic channel Beijing’s sincere gratitude to Greece, Malta, Egypt, Tunisia, etc. etc. (and probably, Gaddafi, too) for the big hand they gave. Of course, China also accommodated in one of its chartered ships 500 europeans who wanted to leave Libya. A goodwill gesture, obviously. / r- v( q1 D$ q9 f 5 ?" T+ q# D4 F& O# MBy the way, China didn’t send any warships? No need of that, either. China doesn’t intend to participate in the NATO’s ‘humanitarian intervention’ in Libya in mid-March. Nor is China seeking ‘inter-operability’ with the NATO. Besides, China is in no tearing hurry to secure the ‘global commons’, either. Besides, it is already a permanent member of the UN Security Council and doesn’t have to be a junior partner to the US. So why send the warships? Anyway, warships are meant to defend the homeland - and not for pleasure voyages.
