Meanwhile, India’s failure to respond adequately in China’s eyes to any of these demands means China has worked to thwart Indian efforts elsewhere. For example, it opposes India’s entry into the Security Council as a permanent member, it opposes World Bank and IMF project loans for development programmes in Arunachal (and may soon do the same with Jammu and Kashmir), it wants India out of East Asian regional forums, it has steadily built military pressure points in Tibet and more broadly it sustains strategic pressure through its alliance with Pakistan. This is hard-nosed realpolitik, much like it is engaged in with Japan in the Pacific and Southeast Asian states in the South China Sea.
It’s not as if India hasn’t tried to meet China halfway. It has already made two unilateral concessions to China—recognizing Taiwan as a part of China and then accepting Tibet as part of China—without seeking any reciprocity over its own territorial integrity. Yet China doesn’t see these as concessions at all, so there’s been no diplomatic gain and no attempt to build trust on the Chinese side.
How should India respond? It needs to pursue a more nuanced version of its current strategy. Given the importance of the relationship, both engagement and a certain amount of balancing remain crucial for bilateral and regional stability (for a start, India needs to indicate what its own core interests are).
The reported cancelling of military exchanges by India in response to the visa denial was only to be expected. But broader steps may also be needed to ensure that a comprehensive dialogue on a series of intertwined disputes takes place.
One thing India should do is to adhere to strict reciprocity on all diplomatic issues with China—unilateral concessions don’t seem to help matters. Another step India should take is to boost ties with Taiwan and invite a ministerial team for talks on trade and investments. And it would be useful if India’s leaders moved to open discussions with select Southeast Asian states such as Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore on China’s increasingly assertive behaviour across Asia—fears are growing about the growing gulf between Chinese rhetoric of peace and harmony and its actions.
Finally, India should stop reiterating that the Tibet Autonomous Region is part of China until Beijing accepts Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir as integral parts of India.
It goes without saying that it’s important not just for India, but for Asia as a whole that relations with China move forward to ensure long-term stability in the region is maintained. But ultimately, no progress will be made unless China feels the same way.
Sujit Dutta is a senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (www.idsa.in) in New Delhi. This is an edited and abridged version of an article that was originally published by the organization here.
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ari
New Delhi mustn’t learn to be too arrogant. Don’t think Beijing – made up mainly of tough, savage northern Chinese – is a pushover. If New Delhi continues to behave badly, it could expect another Genghis Khan treatment, much like Tamerlane after it. Don’t be too smart and alecky.
Sravan
@ari
have you even read the article…
Or is ur dictionary so flawed that arrogance means exercising the right to defend oneself
anyway the only way china can defeat an Indian city would be nukes and if China uses nukes against India first the world will come after you
long
India, Russia, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and the US should form a coalition to contain the bullying China. This is the only way to stop China’s expansionism.
Indian Maverick
Well since china is issuing stapled visas on separate papers to visitors from jammu/kashmir to china, india should do the same for people from tibet and xinjiang too.They did this due to pressure from pakistan to intervene directly in the J&k issue as a legtimate claimant to indian land(POK) that was ceded by pakistan to china, effectively to involve china in the dispute between india and pakistan as a third claimant party which has no legitimate claims to that areas in the first place.
And china should have known better as to not to have involved itself in that issue which is solely indias and pakistans issue in the first place, thus reinforcing indias believe that china is trying to expand at indias expense.
Thus india should issue visas on seperate peices of paper instead of stamping on their passports for people from tibet and xinjiang who visit india.
sunny
India showed the guts during chinese premier’s visit by not mentioning one china policy first time. writer is correct, India shouldn’t give unilateral concessions to chinese. It should cooperate with other regional allies who are also target of chinese bullying. put a heavy duty on chinese import till trade imbalance issue is not sort out. It’s pure and simple we don’t need chinese but they need our market to dump their cheap products. We are just selling them raw materials which could be used in growth of India in future. they don’t supply any high tech products or any other key resource, product, energy, tech.
Don’t repeat the mistake of US which is now in huge imbalance with china. Develop Indian military strength to response any chinese misadventure and be part of any alliance to control chinese assertiveness.
Start giving stapled visa to people from Tibet and Xinjiang and recognise Taiwan.
Michael
Indian Hindu nationalism is the greatest threat to India’s future prosperity! The notion that India doesn’t need China to develop is the delusion of those who believe that India is destined to be a superpower! Sooner of later Indian’s are gonna come to the realization that the CIA has completely infiltrated India’s political class and their Indian Brahmin stooges are simply carrying out their masters orders. India already has enough hostile neighbors, I’m not sure why India feels its in its best interest to pick a fight with China. This is why India will never develop into a prosperous country…it’s too focused on war instead of peace!
TruceorSword
This great game will be over the day Baluchistan and Sindh gains independence from Punjab. In no other country you will see the minority controlling the majority. Baluchistan and Sindh are rich in natural resources and have talented people but is exploited by the Punjab with nothing in return. Sindh is already turning into a salty marsh due to irregular supply of water from Punjab. Baluchistans natural resources are taken away while itself seeing no development. It is good to unite against the outsider but don;t fail to see who is breaking you apart from the inside.
Amit
India has to be powerful and strong. India has to be competitive and let the Chinese know India can do it. India should never be fooled by Chinese. China will always play the proxy war against India involving Pakistan. Pakistan is no match to India. Bottom line is that China is the biggest enemy of India and that need to be tackled with tit for tat. India needs to build more powerful nuclear arsenal and let the Chinese think about it.
Michael
With 1 billion living on less than $2.00 dollars a day and 800 million Indians defecating in the open right now, I think India should take care of its poor instead of trying to start another war. Hindu nationalism is simply too radical and fanatical, just like radical Islam!
Shah
Sir,
There were poor in the past and there are poor now and there will be poor in the future – Once the Nation is totally secured then it shall be very easy to solve the internal problems like poverty, education, health etc. At the moment the funds are required to secure the nation and if it is not done so then the nation and the people will be enslaved- and then there shall be poverty for ever.
sam
Michael————If hindus were as you portay, islam, christianity will not have existed in india.China is far bigger danger not only to india but to the world. They represent evil. Hindus are now waking up to the tricks of china and their servant pakistan. Just wait to see hindu power. It is coming to destroy evil
Armageddon Thru To You
India, your Ganhdi approach to China will never work. Start playing hardball and line your border with missiles pointed at China and start buying nuclear subs to surround China or you will be destroyed
Indian Maverick
@ Armageddon Thru To You
Agreed. India should abort practically, but not toally forgetting its gandhian ways of peace. India should play hardball with countries which play hardball to peace, as a tit for tat measure..
Shah
sir,
Be prepared and ready for war and peace will follow.