Sharp Edge Of Realpolitik

A year later, Galwan will be remembered as a watershed, equation-changing moment in India-China ties. Chinese actions in Ladakh have hardened India바카라�s stand and, considering the asymmetry in military and economic clout, has left it with little option but to greatly accelerate the pace of closeness with the US. Then there is the Quad바카라�the US, India, Japan and Australia group that is a direct result of China바카라�s assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific.

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바카라�India will have to craft a new China policy in this changed context where engagement will have to be shaped amidst strategic compulsions,바카라� says Sujit Dutta, senior fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation. The anti-China bloc has taken concrete shape as US-China ties take a deep downward dive. 바카라�US-China rivalry means that India has a strategic ally. The closer India gets to the US, the more integrated it is within the American system of partners and allies, the more access it has to American technology and intelligence, all of which will build India바카라�s capabilities,바카라� says Aparna Pande of the Washington-based Hudson institute. 바카라�Fourteen months after PLA entered Indian territory, for the fourth time in eight years, India-China border discussions are at an impasse. New Delhi still rests its hopes that rounds of high-level diplomatic and military negotiations will convince Beijing that the two can바카라�find a compromise that gives India a face saver. Indian leaders are ­reluctant to admit that China바카라�s 바카라�two step forward, one step back바카라� policy has resulted, over the years, in loss of critical territory. They are also yet to acknowledge that China plays by different rules and that India needs to up its game on multiple fronts.바카라�

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The situation now can best be described as 바카라�an immobile impasse바카라�, says Alka Acharya of JNU. 바카라�It is evident that China is in a good place.... Talks are on, so there is no fear of ­escalation, yet the pressure is on as India is left guessing at China바카라�s next move. China has also sent out a strategic signal to India바카라�s neighbours that it calls the shots and can cut India down to size,바카라� she adds.

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Bloodless intrusions along the LAC have been the norm, but the savage hand-to-hand brawl between Indian and Chinese soldiers on the mountain slopes, in which 20 Indian soldiers died, was a rude awakening. 바카라�The power equation in the region is changing,바카라� says Datta. 바카라�The Quad is here to stay. India is moving closer to the US. India바카라�s own capacity is being built up바카라�defence forces are being ­upgraded, border infrastructure being ramped up. Within a couple of years, we will be in a much stronger position militarily.바카라�

Former diplomat Punchok Stobdan brings in a broader philosophical view. 바카라�Diplomacy is the art of compromise,바카라� he says. 바카라�Somehow, the notion of compromise in modern India is viewed negatively and associated with weakness and defeat. Maybe this has something to do with Partition.바카라� But, as he points out, 바카라�in the past, compromise, flexibility and adaptability were viewed as integral parts of Indian philosophical tradition바카라�.

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Stobdan calls for India and China to work out a compromise in true Asian style. 바카라�A real attempt at trust-building has not yet begun. Currently, we are at a crossroads. I think it is time to seek major strategic compromise from both sides. It is a challenge not just for Indian diplomacy, but also for Indian civilisation,바카라�바카라� the former envoy says.

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