India Joins Boycott of Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

India announced on Thursday that it would join the US-led diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing after China included a soldier in the torch relay ahead of the Opening Ceremonies who was involved in a deadly border battle with Indian troops.

The Indian Foreign Ministry announced that its top diplomat in Beijing will not be present at the Games' opening or closing ceremonies. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to attend the Friday launch at Beijing's National Stadium, popularly known as the Bird's Nest.

The US, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom have all announced diplomatic boycotts in response to Chinese human rights violations in Xinjiang.

The withdrawal of India — and China's decision to highlight Qi Fabao — threatens to prolong a two-year standoff between the two Asian nations, which began with a series of high-altitude border clashes and has now escalated into a military buildup. Military officers from both sides have met 14 times to try to resolve boundary disputes, with little success.

“It is indeed regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters on Thursday as he announced the withdrawal of India’s top diplomat. The decision does not affect the participation of Arif Khan, the skier who will be the only athlete representing India in Beijing.

India's declaration was met with silence by Chinese officials. Following the announcement of a diplomatic boycott by the Biden administration in December, which was quickly followed by other friendly states, a Chinese government spokeswoman accused the Western countries of politicising the sports event and threatened that they would "pay a price."

India's move came a day after Qi, a regimental commander in the People's Liberation Army, was chosen as one of 1,200 torchbearers to carry the Olympic flame across the Olympic Park and several athletic venues in Beijing during its three-day relay. On Wednesday, Qi was seen on Chinese CCTV giving a military salute to Wang Meng, a Chinese speed skater who passed him the torch for a short jog.

After suffering significant head injuries during a brawl with Indian forces in the Galwan Valley, a border region claimed by the two neighbours, Qi was bestowed high military decorations and lauded as a hero in Chinese official media. Qi was attempting to negotiate with Indian counterparts when he was attacked with "steel pipes, clubs, and stones," according to Chinese official media. Officials from India later claimed that 20 of their soldiers were killed in the ensuing brawl. China has confirmed four deaths, but there is considerable conjecture on Chinese social media that the exact toll is much higher.

Qi has been highlighted on China Central Television, the state broadcaster, since his recovery from a coma. In December, he was pictured in his fatigues and gave interviews in which he stated that he was "ready to return to the battlefield."

Qi's portion of the torch relay prompted a barrage of criticism from within India and from James E. Risch (R-Idaho), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, once it was made public on Wednesday.

On Twitter, Hu Xijin, a former editor of the Global Times and a powerful Chinese state media figure, backed Qi's actions.

“Qi Fabao is a survivor of that bloody clash. He participated in the torch relay,” Hu wrote. “What I saw from it was a call for China-India border peace and call for world peace. What’s wrong with this?”