Eyeing the Dragon: India's China Debate
Abstract
Just as the Indian sub-continental plate constantly rubs and pushes against the Eurasian tectonic plate and causes friction and volatility in the entire Himalayan mountain range, India s relations with China also remain volatile and friction-ridden because of past experience, war, territorial disputes, unparallel interests, conflicting worldviews and divergent geopolitical interests. Today India and China are engaged in a competition for supremacy in overlapping areas of influence in Asia. The key players in India s debate about China are the Prime Minister s Office, the military and intelligence community, the Ministry of External Affairs, political parties, and business lobbies. The Indian government s current approach signals a shift from confrontation to cooperation. New Delhi prefers to steer a pragmatic course ( balanced engagement ) between the concirclement ( China as threat ) and appeasement ( China as benign power ) schools of thought. Simultaneously, India s evolving Asia policy reflects a desire to build an arc of strategic partnerships with the United States and China-wary Asian countries, which would neutralize continuing Chinese military assistance and activity around India. India prefers a U.S.-led unipolar world to a China-dominated Asia but ultimately seeks a multipolar world with itself as a constituent pole. New Delhi also has a degree of interest in U.S.-China competition because it makes India the object of courtship and wooing by both the United States and China. The chances of an India-China united front (or Russia-China-India axis) against the United States are nil.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA591916
Entities
People
- Mohan Malik
Organizations
- Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies