The Tough Get Going

Context: India’s handling of the standoff with China along the LAC has posed a danger to the Chinese aggressive neighbourhood diplomacy.

Issues with the rise of China

• China’s Aggressive Neighbourhood Diplomacy: While President Hun Jintao talked about his vision of “periphery diplomacy” for a “harmonious world”, China is now shifting towards aggressive diplomacy.

• Expanding its cultural influence and improving regional security cooperation and socialising in the region to make countries accept its view of its core interests.
• Enforcing China’s sovereignty and territorial claims in its neighbourhood.

• For, E.g. Unilaterally enforcing Nine-Dash Line maritime boundary in South and East China Sea areas.
• China has rejected the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) verdict on the Nine-Dash Line. 
• Vietnam had to be content with international condemnation when their fishing vessel was forcefully sunk by the Chinese Coast Guard. 
• Chinese survey ship encroached deep inside the Malaysian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in search of oil reserves.

• Americans and the Japanese find it difficult to countenance the aggression of the PLA navy in the South and East China Seas. 
• The aircraft carriers of the PLA navy undertake exercises in close vicinity of the American carriers.
• China’s push for non-Arab alliance: Seeing the virtual split in OIC between the Arab and non-Arab countries, China stepped in extending its support to the emerging new Islamic alliance. 

India’s Response to Chinese Aggression

• Proactive diplomacy and strong ground posturing: against Chinese aggression.
• India’s response at the Doklam tri-junction in North Sikkim in 2017, forced the Chinese to backtrack. 
• Chinese aggression along the Indo-Tibetan border along the LAC has met with stiff resistance from the Indian side. 
• Increasing connections with the Arab world: has led to the shedding of anti-India rhetoric by Organisation for Islamic Cooperation’s 
• Isolating China at the United Nations Security Council: For E.g. China couldn’t secure support from any country except Niger on the Kashmir issue.

Challenges 

• Turkey’s strong bond with Pakistan and strained relationship with India might pose a diplomatic challenge for India in the UN.
• Turkey is taking over as the Chair of the UN with Pakistan as the president of the United Nations – Economic and Social Council.
• China efforts at propping up the non-Arab leadership to counter the Saudi-led OIC
•  Issues such as Islamophobia and Kashmir may return to dominate the international discourse. 
• The US, with elections around the corner, will be less interested in these affairs for some time.
  
  

Conclusion: India needs to cultivate its traditional ties with Europe and Indo-Pacific neighbourhood to tackle the challenge at an international platform.