(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) In the sixth round of their Corps Commander-level talks, India and China have agreed not to send any more troops to the crisis points on the LAC. The talks come amid the relative calm brought in by the Foreign Minister-level talks two weeks ago. However, there was no agreement on disengagement, which is a crucial condition for India. India wants Chinese troops pulled back from the friction points. Meanwhile, reports indicate that China has built 13 new military positions along the border with India, including air bases and heliports. This intense buildup began after the Doklam standoff in 2017. According to the report from think tank Stratfor, this level of preparations would make a military confrontation with China a costly affair for India. The buildup also points to a long-term play for regional dominance, going beyond temporary truces brought by diplomacy. Former National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan alluded to this in The Hindu yesterday, when he said that the Chinese strategic thinking is strongly influenced by Sun Tzu's The Art of War, which emphasises on deceiving the enemy. The Indian thinking, Mr. Narayanan said, stems from Kautilya's Arthashastra, which emphasises morality. The lack of consensus on disengagement, and the possibility of a long-term play by the Chinese, as suggested by the Startfor report, are what make this story important, |
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