Why China is embracing India for control over Asia-Pacific?

SINO-INDIAN bilateral relationship was elevated significantly during the Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie’s recent trip to New Delhi as the bitterly competing neighbors reached a landmark consensus on forging an alliance to sustain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The Communist leadership in Beijing seems to have adopted a conscious approach of legitimizing India’s strategic and diplomatic stake in Southeast Asia and beyond for the time being. This indeed is unique in the sense that the Chinese apparatchiks have shown no inhibitions so far in deriding New Delhi’s strategic priorities and even going to the extent of nurturing and propping up physical assets in India’s proximity to hedge against her ascent. Paradoxically, in spite of boasting a booming bilateral trade that touched $ 74 billion mark in 2011, both the countries are engaged in acrid competitive rivalry that has marred the possibility of these two civilizations jointly becoming the fulcrum of the Asian century. But the shifting of American focus toward Asia-Pacific from the Middle East coupled with reinvigoration of trans-Pacific partnership has forced the Chinese leadership to recalibrate the country’s strategic policy in a way commensurate with the rapid development taking place in the arc extending from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean rim encompassing South-Southeast Asia. The witty foreign policy mandarins representing Beijing in international forums lost no time in discovering the carefully chalked US strategy of embarking upon a gradual economic and military containment of their nation. Furthermore, Pentagon’s policy decision of repositioning 60 percent of the US Naval combat fleet into Asia-Pacific progressively and the presence of a strong contingent of US marines in northern territory of Australia have ruffled too many feathers within the People’s Liberation Army top brass. Also, New Delhi’s brisk engagement of strategically significant regional littoral states comprising of Burma, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia was interpreted by the Chinese Communist Party think tank as an ambitious move to vie for influence in China’s backyard.
Beijing’s sudden switch to a conciliatory mode toward its archrival India stems from the realization that embracing a practicing democracy with huge economic potential can not only redefine the strategic balance in the region but also act as a catalyst for improving ties with the Western and regional powers with whom they have been jostling on territorial claims. The Chinese policymakers are actually trying to exploit India’s hesitation of openly backing any American grand effort of encirclement though the Indian government is extremely uneasy about its northern neighbor’s belligerent attitude on contentious issues like that of unhindered freedom of navigation and exploration in the international waters of South China Sea. In fact officials in New Delhi have expressed concern in suppressed voices over the American administration’s all-out efforts to blunt China’s opaque trade competitiveness despite the fact that Indian manufacturers continue to be at the receiving end with cheap and smuggled Chinese products flooding Indian markets. However, one thing is for sure; President Barack Obama’s proactive Asia-Pacific policy latent with the possibility of triggering a subtle cold war between a rising China and a declining United States of America will surely have a spill over effect on the People’s Republic’s rigid political, social and administrative structure.
With weeks to go before the once in a decade transition of power takes place in Beijing, President Hu Jintao’s successor Xi Jinping is already making the right noises for political and social reforms. Even though the man waiting for coronation might himself be a stickler for treading the traditional socialistic path based on narrow nationalism, he is all set to become the harbinger of political reforms in a closed society by opting for a “Burmese Style” controlled liberalization of the unitary democratic system. To limit the US onslaught, Beijing is bound to look inward for keeping its house in order. Amicable resolution of the rising ethnic disgruntlement, greater tolerance for differing opinions and ideology along with the willingness to accept public criticism might become the hallmark of an amended China in the not so distant future. As the Sino-American contest turns into a fight for accruing crucial allies in a resurgent Asia, Beijing will leave no stones unturned in hijacking New Delhi out of the defining Indo-US partnership of the 21st century. Given the fact that the Indian establishment too recognizes the importance of Asia-Pacific as the emerging global economic hub and is wary of forcing a new multilateral security architecture down the throat of regional powers in haste, Beijing will be more than happy to resolve the contentious issues that has divided China and India for so long even if it means surrendering their stealthy interests in Kashmir and India’s northeastern territories that are literally sitting on an inferno thanks to Chinese meddling.

— The author is Kolkata-based journalist and a columnist.