How India Can Play the China Card

India must remain clear-eyed about Chinese intentions in the Himalayas, the Indian Ocean, and cyberspace.

- KHEDROOB THONDUP

In the high-stakes theater of Asian geopolitics, India stands at a crossroads—caught between the gravitational pull of U.S. strategic expectations and the persistent shadow of Chinese assertiveness. Yet within this tension lies an opportunity: to play the China card not as a concession, but as a calculated maneuver to reshape its relationships with both Pakistan and the United States.

For decades, India's Pakistan policy has oscillated between restraint and retaliation, often constrained by global perceptions. But China's deepening entanglement with Pakistan—via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), military cooperation, and diplomatic shielding—offers India a paradoxical lever.