SINO-India Relations and Pakistan Factor

Abstract

This paper is focussed on the Sino-India relations with reference to two factors: US-India alliance and Sino-Pakistan cooperation. It also argues that the China and India have experienced stresses and strains in their relationship mainly due to their border disputes. Sino-India relations have gone through different phases; from border clash in 1962 to rapprochement in 1980s to a wider economic cooperation in the contemporary era with more focus on trade rather than political and strategic differences. However, China’s military assistance for Pakistan and Sino-Pak cooperation on defence and strategic issues forces India to maintain strategic and security policy priorities in its relations with China. Similarly, China has been spotlighting and observing carefully ‘India-US civilian nuclear cooperation’ in the context of possible regional threats for China. Pakistan and China friendship and US-India ties have great impact on the way China and India interact with each other. This is clearly reflected in their policies and perceptions.