THINK afresh
   Date :23-Feb-2021

India and China_1 &n
 
EVEN as India and China engages each other in continued rounds of negotiations to work out reasonable way out from the eastern Ladakh quagmire, time seems to have come for India to think afresh its approach so far to handling situations of such nature. Even though the world acknowledges that India stood tall and strong against China and made Beijing to take a relook at its stance, it cannot be concluded that the problem is over once and for all. Those who understand the Chinese chemistry know it well that it may not be too long before China returns to trouble India perhaps with some bigger force. India has to keep itself ready for such possibilities in the future. Of course, India has gathered a good deal of experience in counter-military diplomacy by now. New Delhi has learned quite a few lessons from 1962 and subsequently.
 
Over time, it has evolved its own method of military diplomacy to stand equal to the Chinese challenge from time to time. India has succeeded in decoding the Chinese chemistry in a great detail to conclude that the China’s Army is not as invincible as Beijing has to tried to project it. By now New Delhi has understood fully that the Chinese soldiers are not as well-trained as the Indian soldiers to handle the high-altitude combat conditions in terrible Himalayan winters. Another of the weaknesses of the Chinese Army is that it is a collection of conscripts with limited tenures at the end of which most of them bow out of the uniform -- without any benefits that India’S soldiers get usually after their long careers in the Armed Forces. All these dimensions limit the Chinese ability to keep the fight up for long spells. In sharp contrast, the Indian Army has acquired a special capability to continue in long spells of high-altitude combat conditions, thanks to its presence in the Himalayan heights at Siachen. Thus, currently, Indian Army seems better poised to handle the Chinese challenge.
 
Despite this, as some strategic thinkers suggest, it is time for India to start thinking of ways and means to ensure that the Chinese do not keep returning to create fresh trouble. One of the suggestions that come from such thinkers is that India would serve itself better if it starts creating around China a string of strategic engagements -- for example in Taiwan or Vietnam. These thinkers also suggest that India should step up its activities in the field of military diplomacy that China would have to take note of and remain engaged in those many places. The idea is to counter the Chinese strategy of India’s encirclement with various developmental projects in several countries. In actuality, India has been following this policy, which the experts do recognise. But the overall opinion among them is that New Delhi would do better in hiking the intensity of efforts in this domain so that Beijing starts feeling the heat. The merit of this thinking cannot be under-estimated.
 
The idea does not suggest an aggressive Indian posturing; it calls for a greater assertion in India’s military diplomacy. By now, India has shown to the world that China is not like what it has projected itself to be -- a real big world military superpower and an economic power-house. One of Beijing’s main worries is to maintain that facade somehow so that smaller countries in the region remain weighed down by the alleged Chinese supremacy. If India is able to dent that cover all the more, then it will serve a great international purpose. During the current stand-off, India has shown effectively that it has the capacity to offer an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation to China in the military as well as economic field. This impression has to be consolidated further so that Beijing remains rather cowed down by the Indian thrust. It is good that New Delhi realises its military as well as economic strength and has chosen to match Beijing at every step of the way. However, the need is to create conditions when Beijing would make efforts to match India’s increasing assertiveness in all fields across the Asian region.