India's Need For A Firm China Policy

India’s Need For A Firm China Policy

Source: India should not talk to China — even if Biden talks to Xi (The Indian Express, November 22, 2023)

The Need for Clear Policy: India observes its Quad partners Australia, Japan, and the US, engaging with China. It now faces a decision on its China policy.
Current Impasse: India wants the 2020 Ladakh border issue resolved before talks. Despite meetings, many problems remain unsolved.
China’s Request: China urges India to separate the border dispute from other interactions. India maintains that the relationship is tied to border peace.
India’s Strategy: India combines military talks, economic distancing from China, and suspended political talks in a three-part tactic.
Rethinking Engagement: The idea that India must talk to China just because other powerful nations do is flawed.
The Quad’s Flexible Diplomacy: The Quad is not solely about China. Each member country negotiates with China in ways that fit their own interests. Balancing China’s power is important, but not the only focus.
Individual Diplomatic Rights: No Quad country wants to lose its freedom to engage in diplomacy that serves its own unique situation.

Avoiding Joint Naval Operations: India has not participated in the Quad’s naval activities against China in the western Pacific.
Independent Policy Toward China: India designs its China policy based on its unique geopolitical situation, separate from its Quad allies.

Australia and the US: Both are far from China, with no territorial disputes.
Japan’s Maritime Disputes: Japan faces less intense disputes with China compared to those of India.
The Need for Military Measures: India’s peace at its border cannot rely solely on renewed political interactions or economic ties. Effective military strategies are essential for security.
China’s Stance: China suggests detaching the border dispute from broader bilateral matters. However, Beijing’s idea of sidelining the dispute does not align with India’s stance.
Delhi’s Approach: To influence China towards rebuilding trust and securing the border, India should reduce economic ties and pause political talks, which are its leverage tools.

Strategic Concerns: India worries about the US and China’s relations. Talks between them might lower India’s importance to the US and hurt India’s stance against China.
Economic Dialogue Risks: Talking to China again, without settling border disputes first, could ignore past Chinese aggression. India might miss the real US-China relationship.
Misinterpretations of US-China Dynamics: High-level meetings don’t always lead to big changes. Remember Modi and Xi’s summits? They didn’t improve India-China ties, and tensions rose again in 2020.
US-China Relations And India’s Concerns: Summit Talks: The meetings between Biden and Xi in Bali and San Francisco do not signal an end to the US-China rivalry. These summits aim to prevent conflict, not resolve underlying issues. Becoming allies again would require undoing many mutual countermeasures.
Historical Hostility and Alliance: Relations between the US and China have fluctuated since World War II, swinging between hostility and friendship. Similarly, China and Russia’s relationship has changed over time. The relations between the US and China will also evolve.
India’s Foreign Policy Challenge: India must navigate changes in global power dynamics as part of its foreign policy. Fears in India of being trapped or abandoned by the US are common yet overlook India’s growing national strength.

Embracing Self-Confidence: India’s growing influence encourages it to engage confidently with major powers.
Strategic Opportunities with the West: India should capitalise on alliances with the US and Western nations to bolster its position.
Narrowing the Gap: The aim is to close the strategic divide with China and enhance defences.

Realpolitik Awareness: China’s outreach is driven by its own slowing growth and overextension.
A Strategy of Patience: India must maintain its current strategy for better negotiating power.