COLUMNS

After a Collision in Doklam, India and China Are Correcting Course

Sep 6, 2018 | 09:00 GMT

A Chinese soldier interacts with an Indian soldier at the Nathu La Pass area at the India-China border in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim.

A Chinese soldier interacts with an Indian soldier at the Nathu La Pass area at the India-China border in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim. A year after their tense military standoff over the Doklam Plateau high in the Himalayas, India and China are in the middle of resetting their relationship. 

(PSTR/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Tensions between India and China have relaxed considerably since their armies faced off on the Doklam Plateau in the summer of 2017.
  • This change is a result of setbacks to Indian foreign policy and a more difficult global strategic environment for China.
  • Despite a return to limited cooperation, India will continue to see China as its biggest geopolitical rival, though it will compartmentalize its adversarial relationship.
  • India will continue to build up its military and establish new bilateral security ties to counter China, but it will also refrain from joining any anti-China military bloc, will soften its strident opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative and increase participation in Chinese-dominated multilateral initiatives.

A year after their tense military standoff over the Doklam Plateau high in the Himalayas, India and China are in the middle of resetting their relationship. The shift began most visibly during an informal April meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, China, where the two leaders agreed to issue "strategic guidance" to their respective militaries so a situation like Doklam doesn't arise again....

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