Vexatious dragon resolute india strong india to keep china’s rise peaceful

Vexatious dragon resolute india strong india to keep china’s rise peaceful

It is going to be a long and hard winter on the northern front, given that disengagement talks have stalled over Beijing’s demand that India vacate heights in Chushul and aggressive patrolling in Bhutan. But India cannot flinch, not just for India’s own security but for the world’s security as well. Global powers should be reminded, if such a reminder were required, that Beijing would feel free to flex its muscles across Asia and beyond, were India to buckle under China’s pressure. As US President-Elect Joe Biden prepares to take office, his team should recognise India’s role in an effective China strategy.

President Donald Trump took on China on the trade front, but also staged an America-first retreat from global leadership, giving Beijing the room to set its expansionist agenda in motion. As the Biden administration works to reasserting US leadership, it must evolve a China strategy that recognises this threat and work with allies and partners to strengthen the liberal world order. India’s role in this partnership is critical. A long, unsettled boundary with China, Chinese illegal and unlawful occupation of Indian territory, aggression in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s diplomatic cover for Pakistan’s use of terror as an instrument of strategic depth, whether in India or in Afghanistan — all give India a strong reason to face up to Beijing. India has done well to consolidate the partnership with the US, Japan and Australia, constituting the Quad. As the Chinese endeavour to convert Beijing’s debt leverage over nations in the Indo-Pacific into distributed access to military facilities, not just the Quad but also the EU and Britain must pool financial and diplomatic resources to help the nations indebted to China to stand up to pressure.

At the same time, the world, including India, needs to engage with China on subjects like climate change and proliferation of dual-use technologies, to make the world more secure. Strength and resolve on India’s part must be matched by the liberal world’s active solidarity.