Speaking less than a day after the incident of Indian and Chinese troops clashing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh came to light, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke in Parliament assuring members that no Indian soldier had lost their lives or was injured severely. Accusing China of unilaterally trying... Continue Reading →
Podcast: Ei Samay Gold (Bangla)
August 2020: A conversation with Saubhik Ghosh of Time of India group's Bangla daily Ei Samay for his daily news podcast. I talk about the genesis of the current India-China standoff and the way ahead. Available here.
Making Sense of China’s Dream
After more than two months of high decibel sabre-rattling, the standoff between India and China in the Himalayas entered a process of phased deescalation in late July. This by no means suggests that the current crisis is coming to an end — merely that it is moving into the next stage of what is likely... Continue Reading →
Interview with NBR: India-China Relations after Clashes in Ladakh – Looking for a New Modus Vivendi
In June, Chinese and Indian soldiers clashed in the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh. The close-combat skirmish at high altitude, which resulted in twenty deaths on the Indian side and an unknown number of Chinese casualties, was the bloodiest fight along the disputed Sino-Indian boundary in over four decades. John S. Van Oudenaren interviewed NBR... Continue Reading →
Multilateralism With Chinese Characteristics: Bringing in the Hub-and-Spoke
Shortly after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that “neither had China entered our territory, nor occupied our posts,” on June 19, in reference to the tragic incident in Eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released their version of events. China turned Modi’s statement around to accuse India of transgressing and trying... Continue Reading →
IMPRI India Webinar: Border Disputes in Sino-Indian Relations – Past, Present and Prospects
June 2020: Analysis of the future of the India-China relationships in view of the standoff in the Line of Actual Control and clashes in Galwan valley in June 2020. For webinar organized by Delhi based think tank Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI). Available here.
Playing the long game with China
The news of the terrible tragedy in the Galwan Valley on June 15, expectedly, evoked anger, sadness, and loathing in all of us. Within hours, however, the tragedy of the moment was sullied by a tragic-comedy of errors. In one instance, television anchors struggled to read an imagined list of Chinese casualties circulating on WhatsApp;... Continue Reading →