‘The More India Rises, The More Beijing Will Push Back’

NEW DELHI: The May 2020 clashes in Galwan between the PLA and Indian forces and the subsequent clashes and face-offs along the Line of Actual Control in both the eastern and western sectors raise two important questions. What made China violate the agreements which had ensured a kind of peace along the border for almost three decades?  And what are the implications of this tense impasse for India? Diplomats and academics in India believe there is probably more than one reason for Beijing’s decision. An obvious one was the messaging. The need to put New Delhi in its place for daring to think that it’s growing strategic relationship with the United States would give it leverage against China.  And conversely, telling the U.S. that trying to project India as a regional counterweight and a key player in the American ‘pivot’ to the Indo-Pacific region would actually encourage, not deter, Beijing from showing India its place as and when necessary....Read More