As Beijing continues to increasingly muscle its footprint on the world – experts, and academicians direct that the pursuit of regional hegemony will leave an assertive China exposed, which must be exploited to the fullest by New Delhi
New Delhi: Amidst the pandemic, Beijing ratcheted up its rhetoric against western nations, enacted Hong Kong’s new national security bill, and got into a military confrontation with New Delhi. China’s foreign policy strategies are increasingly being used to advance domestic objectives, propagate its strengths, and minimize its weaknesses. At the same time, Beijing seeks to redress its vulnerabilities through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Made In China (MIC) 2025 plan.
As Beijing continues to increasingly muscle its footprint on the globe – experts, and academicians claimed that the desired pursuit of regional hegemony will leave an assertive China exposed, which must be exploited by New Delhi.
Six Soft Spots
Delivering his keynote address at the ‘India-China Relations – Galvan Puzzle’ webinar organized by the University of Mumbai and Janseva Shikshan Mandal, Vice-Chancellor of Goa University Varun Sahni juxtaposed the two Asian giants on three dimensions.
As he presented a granulated India-China comparison from a multitude of disciplinary perspectives, Sahni also brought to light a conceptual error on part of analysts attempting to size the two nations.
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“We must remember that China is rising and India is emerging. This is not a semantic distinction but a substantive one. Unlike emerging powers, which could have a systemic impact sometime in the future, a rising power is already having a systemic impact on the world today,” Sahni said as he held the extensive bulwark erected in ancient China – the Great Wall – as a symbol of Beijing’s defensive approach to security.
The senior academician elaborated on six soft spots of China which has exposed President Xi Jinping’s credibility in the domestic arena. “From economic crisis to food, energy security, environmental degradation, social vulnerability, regionalism and political susceptibility of the CCP – are all the weak spots which must be focused upon greatly,” Sahni said.
Time for Taiwan Ties
Calling the Galvan valley confrontation as ‘China’s plan going awry’, former Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar said that the incident was a ‘good wakeup call’ for India. He said that by nibbling on New Delhi’s borders and spilling the blood of Indian soldiers, China has ‘shot itself in its foot.’
“They (China) thought that their tactical operation, which was formulated almost three months ago, in the region, would be swift, silent and successful. Their decision to engage with our soldiers had come from the highest authorities in the CPC,” Sajjanhar claimed while pressing the South Block to now plot diplomatic dialogues with South China sea nations – threatened by the PLA Navy.
Indicating that the time is propitious for New Delhi to deepen its political and economic engagement with Taipei, Sajjanhar said that the move would curdle the Chinese territorial appetite.
“India must start giving official statements supporting Taiwan. The Taiwanese have always shown interest to invest in India. New Delhi and Taipei must engage in supply chain ties and trade, which have been exposed due to the COVID-19,” Sajjanhar said, as he called out New Delhi to shift consumer, capital, and intermediate goods to Taipei from various provinces of Beijing.
Develop Intel – Reduce Dependence
Associate Professor (Dr.) Arun Vishwanathan at Gujarat’s Centre for Security Studies underscored the importance of developing exhaustive Chinese language curriculums and programs for Indian students.
“Ability to read the Chinese language would allow access to information which is not largely available. We need scholars and experts in the Chinese language to assist our Intel collection efforts,” Vishwanathan said. He insisted that Indian leadership must reflect on the lessons learned from the Galvan valley incident and evaluate the Intel gaps and possible SOP changes carried out in the ITBP operations.
The academician also shed light on the monopoly China commands on rare-earth metals, which constitute as the key elements in the highest technological applications – satellites, missiles, and phones. “China has over 93 percent dominance on the rare-earth metal ecosystem. India must find alternative sources to fulfill its quota of rare-earth metals,” Vishwanathan said.
Prospecting South China Sea
Professor (Dr.) Srikanth Kondapalli of the Department of Chinese studies at JNU said that China’s leadership, with the outbreak raging across the world, thinks that this is the moment to enhance its role in the regional and global order.
“Thus, they will keep the border dispute alive. It also gives leverage to Pakistan. With Indian forces pre-occupied in the northeast region avails an opportunity for implementing their tactics in the other plains,” Kondapalli said.
The Chinese expert voiced that India, which was among the first nations to use this word ‘One China’, must now oppose Beijing’s ‘One Nation – Two System’ narrative, while strongly seeking reciprocity on the deliverance of recognizing the ‘One India Policy.’ “For starters let us start recognizing Taiwan, Hong Kong and analyze possibilities in the South China Sea,” Kondapalli remarked.
