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Addressing the 75th Session of UNGA on 22 September 2020, Xi says “We will never seek hegemony, expansion, or sphere of influence. We have no intention to fight either a Cold War or a Hot War with any country.” He further said that China would continue to narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through negotiations. Who in this world, granting that he has an ounce of grey matter, will ever believe these words?

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This column is based on a talk given by the author at the State Bank Institute of Leadership, Kolkata on ‘India’s Foreign Policy Imperatives in the Fast Changing World’.

Over the course of the last few decades, the unprecedented rise of China has become a matter of grave concern for great powers across the globe. China’s increasingly expansionist policies present a direct threat to India since it is a major Asian power in China’s immediate neighbourhood. Moreover, India has unresolved border dispute with China, which has been left over from history, and has significantly escalated of late.

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The Ladakh Border with Tibet is tense where the Chinese had intruded in the Northern Bank of Pangong Tso and advanced far ahead in the plains of Depsang. The Depsang plains are strategically important for both India and China. To its west lies Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and further north of it lies the Karakoram Pass – both held by India. Immediately to the north of the Pass is the Chinese territory of Xinjiang. To the west of the DBO lies the Siachen Glacier, held by India.

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The PRC needs a neutral India and this it hopes to achieve by showcasing that the costs of abandoning neutrality, which by definition includes continued reliance on Russia for defence needs, would be severe.

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In the global game being played on a gigantic chessboard, the continuing game being played by India and China over many years has a significant place. But the game has been slow and without any results, often the two rivals forgetting their own stakes and working together to balance the others. But the Chinese moves since this April have been more decisive than before, as though they found that COVID-19 has given them a new opportunity to subdue India in its quest to dominate the world.

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The GCC needs to reform its economic structure in order to link it with the knowledge economy and retrain young citizens of the GCC.

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Most political leaders have a habit of carrying non-performers with them. Rarely has anyone been sacked. A streak of ruthlessness is missing in our leaders to sack their favourites and appoint new faces. It is always safe to hear those who always please and play safe. You know the saying ‘Better a known devil than an unknown one’. Just to remind the readers about the biography of Manohar Parrikar entitled ‘An Extraordinary Life’, in which he attributes the delay in granting One Rank, One Pension (OROP) to the then Finance Minister, A

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Outer space provides a unique domain for conducting surveillance operation since it is literally the “highest ground” when it comes to military operations. Space based Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) capabilities has a very important role in this respect, as it could help countries locate and monitor radar facilities deep inside the enemy territory as well as across the oceanic surface. Hence, ELINT satellites have been deployed ever since the 1960s to augment the technical intelligence of major powers.

Quantum technologies have vast implications for military, scientific and commercial domains.