Border violence could spur India to help US counter China
by
Joel Gehrke, Foreign Affairs Reporter |
| June 18, 2020 12:00 AM
bout of hand-to-hand fighting between Chinese and Indian forces at a disputed border could help U.S. officials convince India to provide a military counterweight to Beijing’s aggression.
“This will strengthen the impetus to increase activities and partnerships with the U.S., Australia, Japan, and other like-minded powers,” said the Heritage Foundation’s Jeff Smith, an expert in South Asian policy. “The more the Chinese undermine their position in India and convince the Indians that they are indeed a long-term rival, the stronger the magnetic pull of the U.S. and others."
President Trump’s administration regards India as a vital ally in a long-term effort to counter China’s bid for military superiority in the global economy’s most dynamic region, a strategy impeded by India’s traditional refusal to align with superpowers. This week’s historic eruption of violence could change those attitudes, with national security dividends for the United States and other democracies in the region.
“Washington has long been frustrated that India is not willing to cooperate more with the United States on operational levels, to push back against China's rise and clout in the Indo-Pacific,” the Wilson Center’s Michael Kugelman said. “Things are changing, and with the India-China relationship so tense now, you may see New Delhi more willing to push back or risk antagonizing China in ways they have not been earlier on.”
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The Trump administration is taking a soft-spoken approach in part out of deference,
observers say, to India’s sensitivity about being perceived as a U.S. proxy in this dispute.
“We note the Indian military has announced that 20 soldiers have died, and we offer our condolences to their families,” a State Department spokeswoman said, noting that the U.S. is “closely monitoring” the border dispute. "Both India and China have expressed a desire to de-escalate, and we support a peaceful resolution of the current situation.”
The controversy is already spurring a shift on 5G, a telecommunications issue that American officials believe has major ramifications for national security. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected
to bar Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications companies from India’s next-generation wireless technology infrastructure, according to local reports.
“We will likely also not allow private operators to use Chinese gear in the future and will encourage domestic telecom equipment makers,” an Indian government source told the
Economic Times of India.
Such a restriction would be a relief to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who helped
broker a deal to tighten intelligence-sharing and military cooperation with India but
regards Huawei as a Trojan horse for Beijing’s spy services.
Chinese state-run media have attributed the tensions to India’s decision to build new roads and transportation infrastructure on the Indian side of the unofficial boundary line dividing the disputed Galwan Valley in Ladakh.
“That road-building worries China because there have been some new roads that have opened up in recent months that allow India to better project its power in this region, which is very difficult, rough terrain, so good roads are strategic,” Kugelman said.
The fight
resulted in the deaths of at least 20 Indian soldiers, according to New Delhi. China hasn’t given an official casualty figure, but Indian media reports suggest that more than 40 Chinese troops died in the clash.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...nce-could-spur-india-to-help-us-counter-china
“This crisis is different than others,” Smith said. “Even fairly measured, cautious folks who are not considered China hawks within the Indian system — they’re saying, ‘We can never go back to the old ways with China, this is fundamentally a game-changing crisis.’ We’ll see if that plays out in reality, but I do believe this will be perceived as a much greater provocation for many Indians than any of the past crises.”
...Guys come on, don't you know Indian army has far more important stuff to do, like catching an "atankwadi" who's caught by camera eyes live on TV...
