Washington: Influential Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has said that Indians now see China and not Pakistan as their biggest military threat and stressed the need to rebalance constructively with Beijing. Relations between India and China have been strained ever since the military standoff in eastern Ladakh in May 2020. The two countries have held 17 rounds of high-level military commander-level talks to resolve the standoff. India has said that its relations with China cannot be normal until peace is established in the border areas.
In a speech on foreign policy at the prestigious Stanford’s Hoover Institution on Monday, Khanna said, ‘Today, we need to rebalance constructively with China. For this, we must be clear about our threats and our allies in Asia, but we hope that our diplomacy and politics can make the 21st century less bloody than the 20th. There are four guiding principles for constructive rebalancing with India: first, economic re-planning to reduce trade deficits and tensions, second: open channels of communication, third: effective military deterrence and fourth: cooperation with our Asian partners. Respect for India and strong economic partnership with the world.” The 46-year-old Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives, said the US needs to forge alliances with India and other Asian partners.
India’s participation in the Quad, along with Japan and Australia, is vital to ensure that our partners work together to prevent China’s hegemony in Asia, he added. In the 1950s, China and India shared a common desire to see Asia emerging from Western colonialism. But Nehru’s vision of cooperation with China had soured.” Khanna said that “Japan, which hesitated to build up its defense after World War II, also took historic steps in building up its national security material.” ”
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