Dragon’s Mind: The Chinese

Strategic View continues ...

The Chinese strategic perception of India is not the same as India’s

own view of itself vis-à-vis its immediate neighbourhood and the world.

China does not see India as a major power on the Asian scene, but

realizes its predominance in the Indian sub-continent, and tries to keep Indian power in check by building up and supporting Pakistan as a

counter-weight. China sees India more as an irritant situated on its

periphery which it needs to keep quitened, so that it does not foment

trouble for China in Tibet. To achieve this aim it has (1) built up a

strategic dominance over India with its nuclear missiles based in

Yunnan and on Tibet’s high plateau, which can reach any city in India,

(2) maintains adequate tactical-level ground forces located in Tibet and

Sichuan provinces to effectively defend the Indo-Tibet border, and (3)

has built up its nuclear missile-armed submarine fleet to further

effectively cover any part of India with a non-targetable second-strike

capability. China has, therefore, already to a great extent already

achieved its aim and has effectively strategically subjugated India. On

the diplomatic front, as part of its policy of maintaining peace and

tranquility on its borders, it furthers its desire to ‘keep the south

stabilised’. Keeping the ‘south’, i.e., the Indian sub-continent, quiet or

under control is important to China to also help keep Tibet from

getting restive. Diplomatic friendliness was part of its previous world￾wide ‘charm offensive’, and not particular to India alone, but its

relevance to its entire southern flank was very focused. Keeping Indian

surrounded with states either beholden to China, or too close to it to

risk independent thought, such as Myanmar, is all part of China’s age￾old frontier policy of ‘using barbarians to fight barbarians’.

To be continued.....