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On China, stick to the redlines | HT Editorial
India must not agree to a resolution which compromises its territorial interests
India and China continue to inch forward in their attempts to bring an end to their continuing border confrontation — or at least reduce tensions before winter sets in fully, and postpone a solution until next spring. If the latest news reports are to be believed, negotiations are moving slowly along an upward incline. Beijing had first argued Indian troops should withdraw from their forward positions along the Chushul ridge in return for Chinese troops doing nothing at all. It has since moved to the view that an Indian withdrawal would be matched by a Chinese pull back to their original positions at Finger 8 of Pangong Tso — but minus India’s right to patrol up to Finger 8.
This is a positive development — the Chinese at least accept they have to walk back from their present positions if they expect the same of the Indians. But there remains a yawning gap between what Beijing is offering and what New Delhi should be prepared to accept. One, there is no question of India returning to its status quo ante position without China, at a minimum, doing the same. Two, given that China is the aggressor, it should be trying to restore trust and India need not fully reciprocate every Chinese action. For example, a residual monitoring post along Chushul ridge or increased patrolling rights between Finger 4 and 8 would be reasonable given Beijing’s trampling of earlier border agreements.
India should also stick to its economic approach of reducing dependence on China. There is no reason for India to enable large-scale Chinese digital presence in its economy, especially when there is zero confidence that China would not misuse India data or shutdown systems if it penetrated the core of India’s 21st century economy. Steps to reduce the Chinese presence in government procurement and infrastructure should continue. The merits of slowly reducing the Chinese economic footprint and positioning India as an alternative manufacturing site are overwhelming, even though this transition will take time, as indicated by the surging sales of Chinese-made cellphones during the Diwali season. India and China must and should continue to seek to decouple from each other along the border, but Delhi must stick to its redlines. At the same time, it should continue with the economic decoupling, which will inflict the greatest pain on China and be crucial to India’s future economic path.
