NEW DELHI: China’s sudden bout of aggression in Ladakh in the past few months, is pushing the world and even India, into re-examining the fundamentals that have guided policy towards Beijing. It’s no longer about investing in China or how to get Chinese investment, it’s about “de-coupling” and ensuring that supply chains diversify away from a totalitarian and unpredictable country.
In this exclusive chat with StratNews Global, former ambassador Arun K Singh and Prof WPS Sidhu of New York University, argue that India is moving forward cautiously, testing the waters of innovative partnerships. Although the Quad has been likened to an “Asian Nato”, Ambassador Singh believes India would not want to be in a camp solely set up to contain China, although there is a need to contain China’s aggression. Prof Sidhu says the Quad is a partnership of equals, unlike Nato it’s a “bottom up” organisation which is still finding its feet and fleshing out the areas in which it will operate.
The lack of a common statement from Quad meetings is not a dampner. They say that much is discussed and decided upon during closed-door meetings that are not being broadcast. It keeps China on tenterhooks and may over time solften its behaviour. For morewatch the full interview.
