http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t-breaks-out-experts/articleshow/59776785.cms
BEIJING: The US is not likely to be an idle witness in the case of a military conflict between India and China and it might take actions to put pressure on Beijing, two experts told TNN in interviews.
"I do not think that the United States would become involved in a border conflict between China and India, but I do think that an increasingly competitive China-India dynamic is likely to lead to increased security cooperation between the United States and India," Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the Washington based Center for Strategic and International Studies told TNN.
Cooper said the US is trying to balance against China's growing power and India can play a major role in this balancing effort.
"In that sense, if China continues to pursue its claims against India, Beijing risks creating an anti-China balancing coalition of its own making," he said. "In my view, Beijing would be wise to de-escalate the crisis and resolve the stalemate without a violent conflict," he added.
Rising military competition between the US and China has kept Beijing engaged in recent weeks. The US might enhance its naval presence in case of a conflict in the India-China border, analysts said.
"Should the ongoing push and shove turn into a hot war, Washington is expected to provide logistical, intelligence and material support to India's military," said Mohan Malik, professor of
Asia-Pacific Center for Security in Honolulu. "It might even dispatch an aircraft carrier and submarines to the Indian Ocean to monitor and deter Chinese naval assets," he said.
Chinese concerns about the US taking sides with India were reflected in a commentary in government backed
Global Times on Wednesday.
"There are certain forces in the West that are instigating a military clash between China and India, from which they can seek strategic benefits at no cost to themselves. Washington applied this scheme in the South China Sea disputes," it said.
Malik said some Chinese strategic thinkers are favouring a short war would give India a bloody nose while helping China take forward its goal of achieving a Sino-centric regional order in Asia.