Publications : Opinion & Commentary
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When an Admiral gets to Helm China’s PLA
The choice of a defence minister from the Chinese navy is also an attempt to avoid further embarrassment for China, domestically as well as externally.Can a Polarised India Deter China?
If the smartest thinkers in the US can worry about its political dysfunction and can call for ‘rebuilding support at home’, Indians should worry too, about how our country’s external aspirations are articulated and achieved.China in Focus, Defence Reforms Get Underway
Defence reforms reimagine the relationship between the defence ministry and the military and foster greater inter-services collaboration.Podcast | A Big-Picture Look at the India-China Relationship
Shivshankar Menon shares his views on the India-China competition, the potential for cooperation or crisis, and what it means for India’s partners on the inaugural episode of Global India, in this podcast.India-China Rivalry Not Episodic or Contextual but Structural: Experts
It is not exactly true that India's rivalry with China is spoken of only in hushed tones. The Indian strategic community is quite vocal about this reality, & this rivalry is not limited to South AsiaReforms Will Determine Whether China Can Return to Rapid Growth
Its economy should adjust its growth model again and financial liberalization could set a ball rolling to accelerate expansion.That Thucydides Trap Again
Does China have to inevitably face confrontation from the US and seek domination over India, asks Jaimini Bhagwati.How India Handles China will Determine Success of Foreign Policy
The issue of how India handles China is likely to remain India's most complex external challenge.Synopsis of Indian Thinking about China, 2018-2022
Constantino Xavier and Gil Rozman trace the evolution of Indian thinking about China from 2018-22 and recognize linkages with its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Why the Corporate Flight From Russia Is No Precedent for China
Despite the rising tensions with China, it is hard to see how the Ukraine war could set a precedent for a confrontation with a vastly bigger economic power such as China.The ‘Whys’ Behind China’s Breathing-fire-24/7 Foreign Policy
The pattern of China’s internal politics and development has given a particular cast or shape to China’s external behaviour in the last decade.Can India Push China off its Dominant Perch?
"A compass to navigate the geopolitical churn with China." Vikram Singh Mehta reviews "Rising To The China Challenge" by Gautam Bambawale, Vijay Kelkar, Raghunath Mashelkar, Ganesh Natarajan, Ajit Ranade and Ajay Shah.‘The Fractured Himalaya: India, China, Tibet 1949-1962’ review: A...
The history of the critical initial years of a political relationship when India and China tried to manage issues such as the boundary question, and failed.Economic Heft and Foreign Policy Posturing
India's foreign policy options are circumscribed by its relatively inadequate economic size and technological capabilities, says Jaimini Bhagwati.Cross-Border Terror Not Over-Arching Threat, SAARC Policy Needs Review
India must rethink its attitude to cross-border terrorism which is “not an over-arching threat” and also urgently review its SAARC policy or run the risk of China being admitted as a member in India’s absence, says Shivshankar Menon.Indian tech unicorns are gaining at China’s expense. Is this a blessing...
The last thing India can afford is a bubble that bursts and for capital, talent and technology to take flight and seek refuge elsewhere.Should India Keep Quad Out of the Neighbourhood?
Constantino Xavier discusses policy consequences and the impact of India being perceived as a part of the "non-China" camp.How the US Created China’s Dominance
The US, more than other G7 countries, has called out the bristling hubris of a totalitarian China, writes Jaimini Bhagwati.India, China, and the stalemate beyond Ladakh
Behind the ongoing military stalemate at the LAC lies a stifling political stalemate between India and China.Interview: Shivshankar Menon On His New Book ‘India And Asian...
India-China relations will be reset and there’s no going back to the status quo, Shivshankar Menon tells Youth ki Awaaz.China tore up the modus vivendi in 2020, the LAC is now live: Shivshankar...
We are still in the middle of a negotiating a crisis... the crisis is nowhere near over until Depsang, Gogra [are resolved], says Menon.India should not risk leaning too much on one side of global politics,...
Shivshankar Menon, author of ‘Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy’ and ‘India and Asian Geopolitics : The Past, Present.’ tells ThePrint’s Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta at ‘Off The Cuff’.Why is China aggressively turning to the sea now?
What is new for China is that it now must think as a maritime power, something it has never done for any extended period of time, if at all, writes Menon.Watch | Understanding ‘India and Asian Geopolitics’
Shivshankar Menon's new book offers a sweeping survey of India’s strategic history as part of the larger Asian geopolitical narrative.India-China ties set for ‘hard times’ over next 5-10 years:...
India and China have been working to ease tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh since the Galwan border clash in June 2020.Chinese social media debates who is in control of Ladakh as India, China...
The February 11 agreement for disengagement on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso and the PLA Daily, for the first time, publicly claiming four Chinese casualties from the Galwan clash on February 19 have once again made China-India border standoff a major talking point in China.The Chinese chatter on Jack Ma and his mysterious disappearance
The world wants to know where is China’s most charismatic business leader Jack Ma, but the issue remains shrouded in secrecy and mystery.Book review: The Historian’s Eye
Romila Thapar provides a nonjudgmental cultural perspective on China.India-China ties: The future holds ‘antagonistic cooperation’,...
The crisis has made it clear that India’s China policy cannot optimise for both security and prosperity.What China hopes to gain from the present border standoff with India
China's actions have brought about what it should be trying to deter, i.e. closer India-US coordination.Their ties go back in time but India, China were absent from each...
While exchanging goods, people, and ideas for centuries, India and China did not deal with other as states or impact each other’s politics or security until the 19th century.The rise and rise of Xi Jinping: At 19th Party Congress, he consolidates...
The National Congress of the Communist Party, held every five years, is the closest thing authoritarian China has to an election. The most recent Congress – the 19th – was held October 18-24, and was an occasion for the over 2,000 delegates to deliberate and agree on policy matters guiding the nation. ...China miscalculated how to handle India, allowed face-saving exit
To the considerable relief of all parties involved, India and China agreed yesterday to end a 74-day stand-off by their security forces near the trijunction with Bhutan. India initiated the announcement with a short statement that simply said that an “expeditious disengagement of border personnel…has been agreed to and is ongoing.” China ...Why are China and India in a border standoff?
The standoff between Chinese and Indian forces near the trijunction with Bhutan is a live, and sensitive, issue for all three countries. It has also given rise to considerable misinformation. The facts of the matter are that on June 16, Chinese forces attempted to extend a road southwards in territory that China ...China benefits from nuclear disorder
The rise in global nuclear disorder and its increasing disconnect from world order is epitomized in the nuclear weapon programmes of two weak and potentially failing states Pakistan and North Korea. While both these countries might understandably perceive some advantage to having acquired nuclear weapons, the real beneficiary is China. Beijing’s ...China’s reaction to Hague ruling could have negative impact on other...
China’s shrill and bellicose response during and after the ruling has only served to heighten alarm over Beijing’s intentions and behaviour among all the major powers, including India The ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague against China’s claim on the South China Sea in a case brought ...The South China Sea arbitration ruling, and why it matters to India
The future of the South China Sea has global implications, as jurisdiction over a few seemingly minor islands legitimises control over vast amounts of sea On Tuesday, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague released its much-awaited ruling on a case brought by the Philippines against China on the South China Sea disputes. ...As China’s Pakistan ties deepen, India needs a strategy to mitigate...
Much of what we have seen in the strengthened China-Pakistan alignment in the last decade is a reaction to the rise of India. Andrew Small, a former journalist who is now a fellow at the German Marshall Fund in the United States, has written a detailed and well researched book on a ...Here’s how the future of the South China Sea will have global...
On Tuesday, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague released its much-awaited ruling on a case brought by the Philippines against China on the South China Sea disputes. The decision marks the most high-profile development concerning the overlapping and intensifying territorial disputes, which directly involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, ...Xi Jinping’s strategic Middle East gambit
The Chinese president’s visit to Iran (after summits in Saudi Arabia and Egypt) is of strategic significance. What is the difference between India and China’s strategic partnerships with Iran? Over $35 billion per year (the gap between India’s and China’s annual bilateral trade with Iran, which stands at $15 billion and $50 ...Chinese tremors
China’s path to global economic leadership is bound to be marked by episodes of turbulence Recent developments in the Chinese financial sector have raised concerns globally about another looming crisis. Fears about a currency war have been expressed and equity markets in both emerging and developed economies have plunged. These views are ...The merits of going nuclear with China
This column first appeared in Mint, on September 15, 2014. Like other products of the Brookings Institution India Center, this is intended to contribute to discussion and stimulate debate on important issues. The views are solely those of the author. The maiden visit of Chinese President Xi Jingping to India this week, following close on ...