Appeasing China won't help counter Trump

In 2020, China’s stealth encroachments into India’s Himalayan borderlands triggered deadly clashes and a prolonged military standoff that nearly erupted into war.

- Brahma Chellaney

Five years on, the border crisis remains largely unresolved, yet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to China in an apparent effort to ease friction — just when India is facing punishing tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

But recent history offers a stark warning: trusting China is a dangerous path.

One can certainly understand Mr Modi’s motivations for seeking a diplomatic thaw with China. The US-India relationship has plunged to its lowest point this century. The decline began during the final years of Joe Biden’s presidency, but accelerated rapidly under Mr Trump, who has now raised tariffs on US imports from India to 50%. Such actions are as ironic as they are absurd. The US long courted India as a vital counterweight to China across the vast Indo-Pacific region, yet it is India that is now being subjected to sky-high tariffs, while China is enjoying a reprieve.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump is attempting to woo Russian President Vladimir Putin so that Mr Putin not only ends the Ukraine war, but also takes a step back from China.