Abstract

The ongoing military standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, is an inflection point in the relationship of the two countries. Beijing hopes to bring the India-China relationship back to normalcy, suggesting that negotiations over the border crisis continue while the overall relationship moves forward. For India, the relationship has fundamentally changed. Indian leaders have grown suspicious of Beijing and frictions continue to persist. India has also aligned strategically with the West, especially the United States. On the ground, the standoff has fundamentally altered the status along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It has changed India’s military posture, and the Indian Army has now reoriented from Pakistan to make the border with China its primary focus. The war in Ukraine has added a new dimension to India’s approach. The war’s impact on India’s military preparedness and the new dynamics of the India-China-Russia relationship has forced India to further calibrate its approach. This public lecture will look at these issues in broad two parts: the first part will assess the status of India-China bilateral relationship providing an overview of the situation on the LAC and India’s military realignment; and the second part will focus on India’s strategic reorientation as a response to China’s growing assertiveness, specifically India’s deepening cooperation with the West and its active engagement in the Indo-Pacific.

About the Speaker

Dinakar Peri is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Hindu covering defence and security issues. A Chevening Journalism Fellow, he was earlier an Associate Fellow at Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) and worked on special projects with Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS).