Ladakh Standoff

Meeting fire with fire

this column (first of three parts) appeared on rediff.com on 9 July 2020. i attempt to provide a number of perspectives on india-china skirmish in the himalayas:

https://www.rediff.com/news/column/ladakh-stand-off-be-prepared-to-meet-fire-with-fire/20200709.htm

two more parts will follow.

the seven perspectives i consider are:

Here is my list (undoubtedly not comprehensive):

1. 1962 redux, with China seeking to 'teach India a lesson' and put it in its place as an inferior power in Asia, no danger to Chinese hegemony.

2. India's infrastructure push on the border to be nipped in the bud before it threatens Chinese interests in Pakistan and the Belt and Road Initiative.

3. The skirmish is a tactic to force India to take potential Chinese reactions into consideration and to self-censor itself into paralysis.

4. It's time for India to become a formal US ally and use Quad power to contain China because this is no longer something India can handle alone.

5. The USSR collapsed as the result of opening too many fronts and imperial overreach. Their mis-step in Afghanistan can be compared to China's misadventure in Ladakh.

6. Power rivalry can be modeled as a game-theoretic Prisoner's Dilemma repeated many times. India is following the standard tactic of 'tit-for-tat'.

7. The Rg Vedic tale of Indra slaying Vrtra the dragon and releasing the waters it had dammed seems eerily appropriate.