Look beyond each other’s flaws
Given the recent appointment of the much-decorated and battle-tested 63-yearold General Li Zuocheng as head of the joint staff department, China wants to send the message that it will continue to act tough. Li has already met Pakistani army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. With the Peoples Liberation Army primed up over the past few months for hostility, India must also prepare for any eventuality, not taking lightly China’s threat to teach it a lesson.
Ideally, however, India and China should declare a 1,000-year cessation of hostilities. Though, we have no idea what the world will look like 1,000 years from now, if our past record is anything to go by, our two civilisations have probably the best chance of surviving into the next millennium. Whatever the immediate differences, both India and China must recognise and regard each other not just as nations, but as great civilisations.
Chinese mandarins know that India’s hegemony in the subcontinent is a given. India too accepts China as an international superpower. Given our deep, historical, cultural ties and on-going geopolitical proximity, it is in the interests of both to build a stable and lasting friendship, based on mutual trust and respect. How to achieve this is a diplomatic and strategic challenge that both powers must embrace.
The forthcoming BRICS summit is yet another opportunity to move forward. If so, the de-escalation at Doklam is a welcome step