China’s bullying tactics exposed by India’s refusal to be cowed

The incursions of the People’s Republic into neighbouring states has backfired in an embarrassing standoff with India in the Himalayas, says Brahma Chellaney.       

The more China has accumulated power, the more it has attempted to achieve its foreign-policy objectives with bluff, bluster, and bullying. But, as its Himalayan border standoff with India’s military continues, the limits of this approach have become apparent.

The standoff began in mid-June, when Bhutan, an ally of India, discovered the People’s Liberation Army extending a road through Doklam, a high-altitude plateau in the Himalayas which belongs to Bhutan, but which is claimed by China.