Limiting the Doklam dispute

When over a third of the world’s population begins preparing for war, the other two thirds must scramble to stop it.

But that is not happening, partly because of disarray in Washington. Where once was a seat of power that commanded enough respect to intervene, today stands a house divided, and because of the chaos, China has been able to flex her already considerable muscle on Doklam, a region disputed by Bhutan and China.

The standoff in Doklam began when China tried to build a road through the area, which it claims as Chinese territory. India sent in troops after Bhutan protested to China and requested Indian assistance in line with a decades-old mutual defence agreement.

With India now arguing on behalf of the Bhutanese, accusations of who is illegally inside whose borders are being exchanged.

Chinese media has accused Indian PM Narendra Modi of ‘gambling’ with his country’s destiny by throwing its hat in the dispute, while India speaks of its attempts to protect its much weaker ally. This has spawned talk of China initiating operations to expel Indian troops from the region, or even a limited war.

‘Limited’ wars, are rarely limited in their impact on the world. Just look at Ukraine. Then, even if the theatre of war remains restricted to Doklam, there is the risk of fallout from a war between two of the six largest economies in the world. Placing ‘limited’ before an India-China war is as reassuring as adding a ‘safety’ to a grenade. At some point, it will blow up.

Meanwhile, any conflict that drags in India without directly involving Pakistan may be seen as a boon by some within our country, but a war between our closest ally and our greatest threat will offer up its own can of worms for Pakistan, which, in the greater scheme of things, can only do us harm. We already have enough slimy situations going on at home.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2017.

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