Sec Blinken’s statement sent a message, which was that the US, while focusing on Ukraine, would not necessarily be available for its allies in other parts of the globe.
Washington, DC: In the week past, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that abandoning Afghanistan was necessary, as it would’ve essentially made it impossible to support Ukraine at the same time. Blinken’s statement sent a clear message to the world, which was that the United States, while focusing on Ukraine, would not necessarily be available for its allies in other parts of the globe.
Unsurprisingly, it brought up the question of the fate of Taiwan should the CCP invade—knowing that the Joe Biden administration would not necessarily be able to come to the island’s aid. The fall of Taiwan would mean the takeover of large swathes of the Pacific by the CCP, resulting in the loss of our major allies in Asia to the complete regional influence of Beijing. However, one other critical nation that hasn’t been receiving the same type of attention is India.
India has been suffering from decades-long Chinese military aggression on its northern borders, since the CCP takeover of Tibet in 1949. A recent Chinese attack on the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh is a major example, although the Indian forces defeated the invading PLA with only one-third of the enemy’s numbers.
Yet, this isn’t the only front where China is attacking India. In recent years, India’s neighbouring countries have fallen under the CCP’s Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI) debt trap, where they have essentially become Chinese vassel states, particularly Pakistan under CPEC. The conversion of Gwadar port of Pakistan’s Baloch province into a Chinese military-friendly site is just one of many examples of the CCP’s attempts to slowly set its presence over South Asia and degrade India’s influence permanently from the region.
India’s G-20 Presidency under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, may play a major role in combating the Chinese influence in South Asia and set India as a new long-term source of hope for the rest of the world. For one, global supply chain disruption is one of India’s top priorities to solve. India remains to be a new gold standard frontier, as global companies are slowly shifting operations from China. South Korea, for instance, became one of India’s largest foreign investors as of 2022, with more than US $5 billion in investments. It is no surprise that India’s solid technological innovation, plus its plentiful workforce offer nations around the world an opportunity to grow along with India.
India will also host the G-20 meetings in two of its most “sensitive” areas, Pakistan-claimed Jammu and Kashmir and China-claimed Arunachal Pradesh. This move isn’t simply to host the summit in different places within its borders, but rather a firm statement that these areas are in fact inseparable parts of India.
India understands that the conventional way of dealing with its neighbours (non-aggressor state) no longer applies. For instance, China’s notion of the “five fingers” of the Himalayas, namely Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Bhutan being historically part of its territory is rejected completely through the G-20, as well as India’s firm pledge to safeguard and protect J&K from Pakistan’s influence.
Se Hoon Kim is the Director of the Captive Nations Coalition of the Committee on Present Danger: China.