India has always been a non-aligned country, preferring not to get caught up in superpower rivalries/cold wars, and other nations historical baggage/garbage, and be used as a pawn.
One of the most endearing qualities about Indian democracy is that despite all the messiness, heated divisive, destructive local politics - all political parties in India are in agreement about its non-aligned and independent foreign policy.
To be fair, India has paid a huge price both economically, militarily, and otherwise to maintain its non-aligned independent foreign policy.
But Indians have never budged, never wavered, even under pressure from major powers.
But things have changed drastically in Asia and the World in this century - it is totally obvious to anyone watching that China is not going to be another peaceful rising power. China is not looking to fight a war with India, even if they can win it decisively; because their economy is still driven by exports, and they know the collateral damage in the eyes of the world will hurt them.
But China is not above punching INDIA in the face, or any of its weaker ASEAN neighbors in the face every once a while just to keep them compliant.
They are also not above bullying anyone militarily weaker than them, who go against their wishes. This includes both large, small, and even tiny rivals.
Every naive Indian PM comes into office thinking they can reset India-China relationship by building a personal relationship with the Chinese leader at the time.
Every single Indian PM comes away with a bloody nose. But that's not going to stop the next clueless Indian PM from trying again. Its almost like a broken record. Indians, it seems, are eternal optimists who only the see the good in China. They still seem to harbor the hope that even if they failed with Mao, Deng, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping; but somehow magically they will succeed with the next guy after Xi leaves office.
As I have said for the last 10 years in this forum - there is no "win-win" with China.
if you understand Chinese culture, people and their history - China is a product of a "dog eat dog culture" and its ingrained in the fabric of their DNA.
They even treat their own people with the same contempt; so how can they change ?
In my humble opinion; India has reached the point of Crossing the Rubicon.
India can maintain its non-aligned status, and keep getting punched in the face every other year and issuing bogus denials in Press which eventually breaks down when the Press finds out.
Or, they can join the US, Japan, Taiwan, and the Western alliance to actively thwart China's growing hegemony.
Sitting on the fence, and hoping for the best is simply not an option anymore !
One of the most endearing qualities about Indian democracy is that despite all the messiness, heated divisive, destructive local politics - all political parties in India are in agreement about its non-aligned and independent foreign policy.
To be fair, India has paid a huge price both economically, militarily, and otherwise to maintain its non-aligned independent foreign policy.
But Indians have never budged, never wavered, even under pressure from major powers.
But things have changed drastically in Asia and the World in this century - it is totally obvious to anyone watching that China is not going to be another peaceful rising power. China is not looking to fight a war with India, even if they can win it decisively; because their economy is still driven by exports, and they know the collateral damage in the eyes of the world will hurt them.
But China is not above punching INDIA in the face, or any of its weaker ASEAN neighbors in the face every once a while just to keep them compliant.
They are also not above bullying anyone militarily weaker than them, who go against their wishes. This includes both large, small, and even tiny rivals.
Every naive Indian PM comes into office thinking they can reset India-China relationship by building a personal relationship with the Chinese leader at the time.
Every single Indian PM comes away with a bloody nose. But that's not going to stop the next clueless Indian PM from trying again. Its almost like a broken record. Indians, it seems, are eternal optimists who only the see the good in China. They still seem to harbor the hope that even if they failed with Mao, Deng, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping; but somehow magically they will succeed with the next guy after Xi leaves office.
As I have said for the last 10 years in this forum - there is no "win-win" with China.
if you understand Chinese culture, people and their history - China is a product of a "dog eat dog culture" and its ingrained in the fabric of their DNA.
They even treat their own people with the same contempt; so how can they change ?
In my humble opinion; India has reached the point of Crossing the Rubicon.
India can maintain its non-aligned status, and keep getting punched in the face every other year and issuing bogus denials in Press which eventually breaks down when the Press finds out.
Or, they can join the US, Japan, Taiwan, and the Western alliance to actively thwart China's growing hegemony.
Sitting on the fence, and hoping for the best is simply not an option anymore !
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