It must also be noted that while the military conflict and tensions on the Ladakh border is dominating headlines in India, that is not the case in China. At the same time, while the aggressive Indian stance might, secretly at least, generate respect for India amongst Chinese policy makers, it would not be surprising if the Chinese also do think creatively about how to show India down sooner than later.
China will most likely not let Ladakh escalate that much more now, and we’ll likely see a rapprochement in the coming days and weeks. But rest assured, the Chinese will try to open up another front to hurt India in the coming weeks or months. Sikkim and Ladakh done, Chinese policymakers and strategists might look elsewhere on the board to strike, and the board now may obviously include the technology front. Indian policymakers need to be ready.
(Anirudh Suri is Managing Director of…