The border crisis has snowballed into an intractable political, diplomatic, and economic challenge for Modi. He can’t accept Beijing’s aggression in the region without denting his own nationalist strongman credentials, but he can’t stand up to China militarily without making enormous investments in his military—investments that are impossible in the midst of an economic crisis.
Read Here | Foreign Affairs
For the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi’s failure to befriend Xi, or to achieve the holy grail of a border settlement, constitutes a huge political embarrassment. There has been no movement on a boundary settlement since 2005, when China consented to sign off on a set of “political parameters” that would govern the final solution. Now the opposition is painting Modi as a trusting simpleton who has been duped by the cunning Chinese leader.
Read Here | WorldCrunch
For Xi Jinping, the COVID-19 pandemic – which has preoccupied the world’s governments for months – seemed like an ideal opportunity to make quick progress on his expansionist agenda. But by provoking India, he may have bitten off more than he can chew.
Read Here | Project Syndicate
One of the most serious is that supporters of the Quad as an alignment of democracies do not necessarily admire India’s charismatic but controversial prime minister, Narendra Modi. From an international relations standpoint, it makes perfect sense for democracies to work together to balance and contain China. But democracies, by definition, have their own internal politics. And in the internal politics of the West, many see Modi as an anathema.
Read Here | Foreign Policy
For more than five decades, the Indian military has feared one thing above all else — a two-front war with China and Pakistan. By leveraging its size, military strength, and eventually its nuclear arsenal, New Delhi believed it could deter or manage a conflict with either one of its nuclear-armed neighbours individually. But a collaborative threat from both adversaries would overstretch India’s resources and pose a formidable challenge.
Read Here | WarOnTheRocks
With the crisis in Ladakh deepening after Indian troops occupied key heights and thwarted Chinese moves in the Chushul sector, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will meet over lunch in Moscow Thursday to try and dial down tensions on the Line of Actual Control.
Read Here | The Indian Express
Unsurprisingly, if in March Prime Minister Narendra Modi had exhorted the nation to celebrate impending success over the virus by clanging metal plates across the length and breadth of India, today he avoids the topic. Make no mistake, India is losing this momentous war under his captaincy.
Read Here | Asia Times
