The growth of China’s economic and military might long precede the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. China was already pressing ahead with its maritime territorial claims, especially in the South China Sea and its continental territorial claims against India. China’s military power has also increased several folds and the pandemic has created opportunities to service its territorial ambitions, which Beijing is increasingly exploiting. It has made critical strategic bets on its ties with Pakistan and Myanmar, and pursued a coercive strategy against states in South East Asia. This Global Policy and Observer Research Foundation volume, edited by Kartik Bommakanti, captures the ambitions, complexities and impact of Beijing’s strategic choices as well the response of different countries to China’s growing assertiveness across the Indo-Pacific.
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Contents
Chinese Military Power
The India-China Military Matrix and their Modernisation Trajectories
Authors: Harsh V. Pant and Anant Singh Mann
COVID-19: The Chinese Military is Busy Exploiting the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Harsh V. Pant and Kartik Bommakanti
China’s Growing Counter-Space Capabilities
Author: Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
Rising Tensions in South China Sea: Why India Should Worry
Author: Abhijit Singh
China’s Strategic Calculus in South Asia
The Ladakh Crisis: India’s Lapses and China’s Stealth Aggression
Author: Kartik Bommakanti
Chinese Checkers in Bhutan?
Author: Manoj Joshi
The Mekong Subregion in Beijing’s Strategic Calculus
Author: K. Yhome
The Ladakh Lesson: India Must Guard Against Chinese Tech Intrusion
Author: Gautam Chikermane
China in the Wider Indo-Pacific and Regional Responses
In Xi and Trump’s Shadow: The Evolving Australia-India Partnership
Author: Ian Hall
Decoding the Initial Response and Ongoing Impact of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia
Author: Premesha Saha
Japan’s China Dilemma in the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation
Author: K.V. Kesavan
Taiwan Question in Indian Foreign Policy
Authors: Harsh V. Pant and Premesha Saha