Two-Pronged Threat

FROM RECENT CRISES - BRUTAL PAKISTANI TERROR ATTACKS TO BRAZEN CHINESE LAND GRABS IN THE DOKLAM AND LADAKH REGIONS - HAVE HIGHLIGHTED JUST HOW ACUTE A THREAT THE SINO- PAKISTANI STRATEGIC AXIS POSES TO INDIA

- Brahma Chellaney

Last month, Islamist gunmen ~ two of whom have been identified as Pakistani nationals ~ slaughtered 26 civilians in Kashmir. It was a brutal attack, in which Hindu tourists, including one from Nepal, were singled out for slaughter. And yet, it was not surprising: terrorist groups have long operated freely from Pakistani soil, with the tacit or explicit support of Pakistan's powerful military.

What might be different this time is that India may have finally found a way to push back, including through military strikes on Pakistani terror camps - strikes that Indian officials claimed were “measured, responsible, and designed to be non-escalatory in nature.” Despite the risks of tit-for-tat retaliation, India, as the stronger side, could escalate or de-escalate the conflict to its advantage.

The threat India faces, however, is not coming from Pakistan alone. China has consistently provided diplomatic and strategic cover for India’s terrorism-sponsoring neighbour. For example, China’s government has repeatedly blocked United Nations sanctions against top Pakistani terrorists. After the latest attack, it praised Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts, calling the country an “all-weather” strategic partner. The enemy of China’s enemy is its “ironclad friend.”

That leaves India wedged between two closely aligned nuclear powers, both of which claim sizable swaths of Indian territory. Recent crises —from brutal Pakistani terror attacks to brazen Chinese land grabs in the Doklam and Ladakh regions - have highlighted just how acute a threat the Sino-Pakistani strategic axis poses to India.