India: A New Variable to the US-China Relation Equation
Image courtesy of Julian Yu via Unsplash
On December 9, 2022, a border clash occurred between China and India in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. This clash was an extension of the ongoing border disputes between the two Asian nations since the 1962 Sino-Indian War – a conflict that erupted in the midst of the Cold War and a couple decades after the partition of India. In June 2020, this dispute reached a grave low, in which 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed along the Galwan river valley in Ladakh. The Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is supposed to divide the 2,360-mile Himalayan border, was a creation of former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai to former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Yet, it is not recognized as an international boundary by either China or India, hence why the border has been an ongoing point of contention for multiple decades.
When one puts New Delhi and Beijing’s reactions of the most recent dispute side by side, it is clear that India views the border dispute as a key, as well as a crippling, driver of the decline of Sino-Indian relations: Indian news outlets covered the December 9 event in great detail and length. In contrast, Beijing sees it as a miniscule issue that can be given a band-aid solution as there are more pressing foreign affairs issues at hand. Chinese news outlets — such as Pengpai, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily, and Xinhua News Agency covered the event— in only a few short articles. An opinion piece in China’s Global Times scorned India for exaggerating the scale of the conflict, stating that “Sino-Indian relations cannot be defined solely by the boundary issue.” Furthermore, spokesperson for the Western Theater of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Long Shaohua blamed the dispute solely on India, stating that the Indian army illegally crossed the LAC. He asked India to “strictly control and restrain the frontline troops, and work with China to maintain peace and tranquility.”
Not only is China’s stance on the issue blameful and unproductive, it also views the conflict as something that will always just “be” and to be merely fixed with a temporary solution until the next dispute occurs. Put frankly, Beijing’s reaction shows that it feels they have more pressing issues at hand, more specifically, the United States. And to be sure, their focus on Washington makes sense. Biden’s presidency has only exacerbated hostility between the two powerhouses, with foreign policy initiatives taking great lengths to contain Chinese influence; his announcement Build Back Better World Initiative, and effort of imposing semiconductor sanctions, just to name a few, exhibit that Washington is also focused on Beijing’s every move in the political, technological, and infrastructural realms.
While 2022 Sino-American relations were far from constructive, Indian-American relations were a different story. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met three times during 2022: in May, the two leaders met at the Quad summit in Tokyo; in June, they met at the G7 Summit; and in November, they met again at the G20 summit in Bali. During these two conferences, arrangements for a strong bilateral relationship in the realms of trade, technology, climate, and security were established. It is important to note, however, that it’s that these realms of cooperation have been present before these summits. Indeed, trade has been at an all time high between the U.S. and India, passing the USD 100 billion threshold in 2021, and even reached 157 billion in 2022.
Moreover, over 25 infrastructure projects have been organized by Border Roads Organization Defence Minister Rajnath Singth for 2023, such as the creation of a 100 meter-long Siyom bridge in the Siang district, enabling easier access to the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh. These pursuits of defense against China are not India’s only plans being made for national security — India and U.S. military cooperation is drastically increasing as the two democracies are sharing information and intelligence with each other. India has partaken in US military education and training programs, and has even bought Apache helicopters and Seahawk helicopters from U.S. defenses.
If China wants to continue to put all of its focus on Washington, India will only become an increasingly major variable in that equation. Based on previous cooperation, the international scene will witness a bolstering of India-U.S. relations in 2023. Meanwhile, India’s efforts to fortify their defense along the LAC exhibits their mistrust of China and prediction of further conflict, which has been the pattern throughout the past 60 years. Regardless of China’s stance on the LAC, one thing is to be sure: New Delhi’s partnership with Washington is on the rise, and if China is going to continue to focus on the U.S.’ every move, India’s national security concerns will boil up to a dangerous point.
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