#dnaEdit: The China track

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has travelled far from its Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) days of anti-communism and anti-China vintage. The man who gave the pragmatic twist to the party’s approach to China was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, starting from his stint as foreign minister in the Janata Party government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to be following Vajpayee’s open-ended policy towards China. But the anti-China streak in the BJP’s world view seems indelible. The party is not alone in its Sinophobia. The pro-American strategy thinkers in India are paranoid about China. It is this strand of perception that renders BJP’s China policy confusing. 

The recent joint statement of Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama with its pointed reference to the South China Sea, which is seen as a way of checking Chinese hegemony in the region, has been hailed by India’s anti-China lobby. Soon after Obama’s visit, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj travelled to China, and announced Modi’s visit to Beijing before the Modi government completes a year in office. 

Modi’s pragmatism goes beyond that of Vajpayee’s benign approach to China. Modi recognises that there is much that China can do by way of investment and execution of projects to boost India’s economic growth. One of the interesting decisions that the Modi government has taken is to allow China to build industry parks. The Prime Minister is not willing to let strategy prejudices come in the way of business bonhomie with Asia’s economic giant. But the strategy experts within the party and outside remain hawkish towards Beijing.

Foreign policy issues cannot be viewed within a simplistic black-and-white framework. It cannot be the case that India should either be pro or anti-China. There is no doubt that, along with economic imperatives to deal with China, there are also the strategic compulsions to be wary of the trans-Himalayan neighbour. 

There are two problems in Sino-Indian relations. One is the unresolved border dispute. The endless rounds of talks are still going on. Perhaps, there is no point in pushing for a hasty settlement. Despite its expressions of intent, China is not in a hurry to resolve the issue. It is, however, to be noted that the border with China is an irritant but it has not been a serious threat in the half-century since the 1962 India-China war. The more troublesome issue is China’s economic and military aid to Pakistan, which makes generals and the PM in Islamabad confident that they can needle India across the border in Jammu and Kashmir. India faces a similar irritant with the American aid to Pakistan.

It would be immature to object to the dealings of China or US with Pakistan on their own terms. Indians have learned that India-US relations have gained a momentum of their own and the Pakistan factor need not be an irritant.

In a similar manner, India must deal with China directly if it has concerns about the South China Sea. China has already expressed dissatisfaction with the India-Vietnam oil exploration project in the SCS. The best way to deal with the row is to sort it out directly with China. Of course, China is unrelenting in its position as India has found out in the course of their border talks. The best way to go forward is to increase the confidence quotient in bilateral relations, and not cosy up to the Americans and the Japanese to checkmate China.