DNA Edit: India-China- ‘Frenemies’ in deed

It’s interesting to note how Hollywood has entered the usually fraught domain of India-China relations. The term ‘frenemies’ -- an alloy of friends and enemies -- used to denote piquant relationships among star rivals, came in handy for Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, to describe how the two Asian neighbours conducted business.

In his speech at Georgetown University in the US, Akbaruddin was advocating a path of nuanced approach. Belligerence or a tit-for-tat policy often leads to dead-ends that neither Beijing nor New Delhi can afford. Every aspect of a bilateral relationship should be judged on its merit.

When it comes to joint developmental initiatives that benefit both countries, India has shown remarkable keenness in partnering with China. At the same time, when it came to contentious border issues or Beijing’s overt support to Pakistani terrorism, New Delhi has been resolute in its opposition.

Unfortunately, Pakistan’s relationship with India lacks this virtue. The near-breakdown of composite dialogue, coupled with the Pakistani Army and ISI-sponsored militancy in the Kashmir Valley, has resulted in a game of brinkmanship.

Since the neighbour’s civilian government is too feeble to stand up to its Army, India’s overtures for peace and resumption of dialogue has had little effect across the border. Mature democracies do not behave in this manner, but then Pakistan suffers from a certain infantilism that thrives on India-baiting.

As Akbaruddin pointed out, in the last 40 years, there have been no casualties along the longest unmarked border that India shares with China, even when the Doklam crisis threatened to snowball into a major conflict. That’s indeed laudable. Wars and terrorism cannot resolve bilateral issues; those can only be solved through talks across the table. China, despite its wily behaviour, understands the importance of maintaining a relationship with India.