While no doubt China was treated harshly, what can befuddle the observer is Beijing’s way of correcting the wrongs which seems rather similar to the heavy-handed methods China’s tormentors supposedly used.
In Beijing’s imagination it is only correct and proper that its primacy in its neighbourhood—and even beyond— be recognised and respected.
Any suggestion that a “vassal” nation may not see things similarly could invite chastisement.
Over the years former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale has emerged as an authoritative voice on China’s conduct of foreign relations and the lessons for India.
China’s Wars: The Politics and Diplomacy Behind Its Military Coercion, his latest book examines the common threads running through China’s conflicts with the US, India, Russia and Vietnam and concludes that its goals are never defined in military terms alone.
This may seem, on the face of it, applicable to other powers too, but becomes worthy of careful analysis if India is to build deterrence against China’s assertive policies along the borders and complex “grey zone” tactics it widely deploys.
It is in this context that China’s military coercion is presented as a “righteous” act and the offending party’s provocation can be a legitimate act to defend its boundaries.
For example, the Philippines invited China’s ire by refusing to acquiesce to unilateral claims over islands in the South China Sea.
China chose to ignore the fact that it was Beijing’s actions at the Mischief Reef in 1994 that had, in the first place, triggered a “counter response” by Philippines.
India’s decisions to build strategic roads along the line of actual control may be a “threat” to China’s interests while its own border infrastructure is perfectly legitimate.
