Sino-Indian standoff: India needs to be prepared for all eventualities
A few things need to be spelt to have a clearer understanding of the situation created by China on the Dokalam plateau in view of the propaganda barrage from Beijing to portray itself as a victim of India�s high-handedness.
First, China�s intrusion into the disputed Dokalam plateau follows the pattern of its intrusions into other disputed areas on our border, whether the Depsang intrusion in 2013 and in Chumar in 2014.
China�s strategy on the border issue is a controlled one, both of not settling it and also negotiating agreements and measures to avoid an actual military clash. This way China keeps India under pressure, exposes the limitations of its political will and military capacity to confront it, keeps large parts of India�s military forces tied up in the north and east with a view to releasing pressure on Pakistan, and through all this pursues its hegemonic ambitions in Asia as whole with diminished Ind ..
Third, China has already intruded in our neighbourhood in a major way. It cannot but feel piqued at not being able to intervene in the special Bhutan-India relationship and find ways of undermining it. It has made territorial claims on this small country in order to push it to have a separate dialogue track with China.
It has offered to make concessions to Bhutan in the north in exchange for the territory it claims in the Chumbi valley area, but this ploy has not worked because of India�s security concerns and Bhutan�s wise policy of not delinking the settlement of its border differences with China with those of India in the trijunction area. China would have a clear motive to disturb the India-Bhutan relationship by violating its own understandings with Bhutan on the Dokalam plateau area.
Bhutan would obviously not want to get caught in the crossfire between India and China more than necessary, and India would not want it either. Promoting the view that Bhutan is being reticent in giving support to India bolster�s China�s gameplan.
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