No More Chinese Whispers

High marks for foreign policy, caution on the internal security front. And why the government needs to worry about the rise in communal intolerance

- Sandeep Unnithan

A challenging triangle of threats and opportunities—China, Pakistan and the United States—with complex interdependencies, is likely to shape the trajectory of the world’s fastest growing economy as a global power.

A two-month Himalayan impasse between India and China over an 85 square kilometre plateau in Bhutan is not only defining the contours of an India-first foreign policy under the Narendra Modi government, it is simultaneously testing this policy on the ground.

The ongoing standoff over the Doklam plateau in Bhutan began on June 16 when Indian troops stopped Chinese troops from building a road through disputed territory and towards the trijunction between the three countries. Over the past eight weeks, China’s state owned media arms have unleashed a propaganda blitzkrieg warning of war even as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the foreign ministry have tried to get India to withdraw. The worst border incident since the seven-year standoff in Arunachal Pradesh’s Sumdorong Chu is no doubt guided by Beijing’s domestic politics—Xi Jinping is up for re-election at the 19th party Congress in November.