History proves threats don't work: Why India-China should focus on trade not tirade

History proves threats don't work: Why India-China should focus on trade not tirade

Despite China's repeated provocation, India's response has been measured with External Minister Shushma Swaraj making it clear that for any resolution in Doklam area, both the countries should pull its forces back from the territory in question.

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Noted journalist Fareed Zakaria once quoted American economist Thomas C Schelling who had famously observed that two things are very expensive in international politics - threats when they fail and promises when they succeed. China's Global Times with its daily tirade against India appears to be doing exactly that. Where there is no promise in its daily rhetoric but threats are as clear as it can get. It claims that Beijing has the capability to resolve the conflict through non-diplomatic means. What does that mean? Military confrontation, it writes. It is important for India to take note of Global Times' message as it isn't like any other media house which we can ignore. It is state-guided and Beijing communicates through it.   At a time when the US is backtracking from its global leadership role and European Union is at the receiving end for its tightly-held bureaucratic way of functioning, India and China could emerge as next alternatives to these powerful economies, observed Dr Nehginpao Kipgen, assistant professor and executive director of Centre for Southeast Asian Studies in Jindal School of International Affairs. Dr Kipgen said that any military escalation between India and China at this point will not only affect the two countries but has the potential to destabilize the entire Asian region.

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And why it is important for theses two fastest growing economies to stick together is the fact that they have been a part of multiple intergovernmental organizations and one of them is BRICS Bank, which was believed to have been established to counter World Bank and IMF. And if anything happens - between India and China on military front - at this juncture, there could be a serious existential threat to the most ambitious financial institution based-in Beijing.

Given the weight that these two Asian giants carry in the world politics, any adventurism could be an expensive one. Remember what Thomas C Schelling said - Threats in international politics is a serious business.    

Noted journalist Fareed Zakaria once quoted American economist Thomas C Schelling who had famously observed that two things are very expensive in international politics - threats when they fail and promises when they succeed. China's Global Times with its daily tirade against India appears to be doing exactly that. Where there is no promise in its daily rhetoric but threats are as clear as it can get. It claims that Beijing has the capability to resolve the conflict through non-diplomatic means. What does that mean? Military confrontation, it writes. It is important for India to take note of Global Times' message as it isn't like any other media house which we can ignore. It is state-guided and Beijing communicates through it.   At a time when the US is backtracking from its global leadership role and European Union is at the receiving end for its tightly-held bureaucratic way of functioning, India and China could emerge as next alternatives to these powerful economies, observed Dr Nehginpao Kipgen, assistant professor and executive director of Centre for Southeast Asian Studies in Jindal School of International Affairs. Dr Kipgen said that any military escalation between India and China at this point will not only affect the two countries but has the potential to destabilize the entire Asian region.

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And why it is important for theses two fastest growing economies to stick together is the fact that they have been a part of multiple intergovernmental organizations and one of them is BRICS Bank, which was believed to have been established to counter World Bank and IMF. And if anything happens - between India and China on military front - at this juncture, there could be a serious existential threat to the most ambitious financial institution based-in Beijing.

Given the weight that these two Asian giants carry in the world politics, any adventurism could be an expensive one. Remember what Thomas C Schelling said - Threats in international politics is a serious business.    

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