Why India is walking away from its tit-for-tat China policy
Prateek Joshi says after bilateral relations hit a low point last year, New Delhi has realised there’s little to gain from a hostile relationship with Beijing. That doesn’t mean it won’t still hedge against China’s influence by nurturing stronger relationships with others in the region
After relations between China and India reached a new low during last year’s Doklam stand-off, New Delhi’s China policy has taken a sharp turn this year, in what could be interpreted as a reversal of its previous stance. In recent months, India has not only supported China’s vice-presidency in the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental agency combating money laundering, but Delhi also withdrew its support from a commemorative event marking the 59th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising. And, in a bid to stabilise ties, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to visit China next month.
The change in India’s approach has triggered a backlash in academic and strategic circles at home, with China sceptics expressing concern that Delhi was “surrendering” to Beijing. Such an observation isn’t entirely accurate.
First, it’s important to understand the factors driving this change. Last year, besides the tensions over Doklam, New Delhi’s invitation to the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh and its criticism of Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” also significantly damaged bilateral ties. On its part, Beijing has been deepening its strategic ties with Pakistan, and it continues to oppose India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, as well as its attempt to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar added to an international blacklist of terrorists. This has prompted New Delhi to look for a counterstrategy.
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Tibetans living in exile in India attend a demonstration on March 12 in Dharamsala, India, to mark the 59th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising. India banned Tibetans from holding a rally in New Delhi to mark the anniversary, as it tries to improve fraught ties with China. Photo: EPA-EFE
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The agent of change has been India’s new foreign secretary, Vijay Gokhale, a former ambassador to China. Under his leadership, New Delhi realised that its aggressive tit-for-tat moves were self-damaging and could not be sustained for long.
