India versus China: why they are not friends

Extract

The greatest strategic challenge facing India today is arguably the rise of China, which is altering the balance of power both in Asia and in the international system. Events from the 2017 border stand-off in Doklam to the 2020 skirmish in the Galwan river valley have made it clear that India's conventional and nuclear deterrence has failed to contain China's territorial revanchist aims. However, the current political regime in New Delhi has tried its level best to respond through India's soft power, with a conciliatory vision under which both countries can end the stalemate through amicable negotiations.

Kanti Bajpai, a noted foreign policy analyst, explores the deep-seated differences in the ‘perceptions’ that these two actors hold of each other. The book further delves into territorial ‘perimeters’ and ‘partnerships’, as well as the growing ‘power asymmetry’ between India and China. It sets out to fill a gap in the existing literature by identifying plausible reasons for the tensions in the relationship between India and China. The author also makes some incisive and thought-provoking arguments about Pakistan, one of the major irritants in the relationship. The deepening friendship between Beijing and Islamabad irks India, which sees Islamabad as a pawn in Bejing's geopolitical moves and a launch-pad for China's Asian security architecture.