Chinese state media slams Mongolia for seeking India's help

China's State media today slammed the Mongolian government for seeking India's financial assistance amid economic difficulties and reports of trade restrictions imposed by China, terming it "politically harebrained".

China's relations with Mongolia have been strained in recent days, following the visit of the Dalai Lama to the country, where he has many Buddhist followers. China reacted strongly to the move, and in recent days reports from Mongolia have suggested that traders crossing the border into China have been subject to extra fees, possibly as a punitive measure.

Mongolia's ambassador in India has since sought financial help from New Delhi. On Thursday, India responded in a calibrated manner, underlining the scope of its financial cooperation with Mongolia but distancing itself from the current spat with China.

"In so far as Mongolia 's relationship with China is concerned, I would not like to comment," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. "We are aware of the difficult budgetary situation that Mongolia is facing due to various factors including high cost of servicing of debt raised by them in the past."

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Referring to Mongolia regarding India "as its third neighbour and spiritual neighbour", Swarup said India was "closely working with the Mongolian government to implement the ($1 billion) credit line (agreed during PM Modi's 2015 visit) in a manner that is deemed beneficial to the friendly people of Mongolia by its leadership."

The Chinese media, however, warned the country against seeking the support of its "third neighbour". "Mongolia hopes it could seek a 'third neighbor', which can enable the country to reap more profits by gaining more bargaining chips. But Mongolia should be alerted that it cannot afford the risks of such geopolitical games," said a commentary in the Party-run Global Times, a tabloid known for its hard line views published by the official People's Daily.

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"Mongolia seems naive about the way international relations work - you cannot harm a country's interests while hoping it can reciprocate nicely," the paper said. "It is even more politically harebrained to ask for support from India, a move that will only complicate the situation and leave a narrower space to sort the issue out. We hope the crisis-hit Mongolia will learn its lessons."

Chinese officials have not publicly confirmed the reasons behind the hike in charges, but called on Mongolia to "adopt effective measures" following the Dalai Lama's visit to set ties on track. China has since cancelled at least two dialogues with the country.

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While Mongolian officials said the visit of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was purely a religious event, the Global Times commentary thundered that "in China's narrative, he is much more a separatist than a religious figure". "Receiving him implies endorsement of his deeds, which is highly disapproved of in both government and public discourses in China," the paper said.

"Whether China's countermeasures are real or not," the commentary added, "Mongolia should reflect on its ill-considered handling of the case, lacking diplomatic sophistication and making trouble for in-depth cooperation between both sides."

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