Amitav Acharya

And then China's support for Pakistan.

China is the biggest, you know, they say, ironclad relationship with Pakistan.

And they see that Pakistan will not be as adventurous, as assertive vis-a-vis India without Chinese help.

That's what gets Indians angry about China.

Otherwise, I don't think there is any totally like unresolvable or a kind of a sort of dimension that cannot be diplomatically addressed between India and China.

I think nuclear weapons play a big role here.

I mean, Pakistan has nuclear weapons, but China is also a much bigger nuclear power.

For a while, Indian foreign policy moved in the direction of ignoring Pakistan and engaging China.

So it's China they have to deal with.

China is the true peer competitor rather than Pakistan.

I think it depends on the location.

So if it comes to the Indian Ocean, which is India's backyard, Indian capabilities are very significant.

In terms of the global power projection, I don't think India has the capability.

So I think India focuses on the Indian Ocean.

The Chinese, of course, are building a blue-water navy, and they want to go into the Indian Ocean.

They're already in the Indian Ocean.

And India feels that it can act as a

deterrent or counter to Chinese expansion in the Indian Ocean.

And that, in Indian strategic thinking, is kind of helpful to the West.

So Indian strategic doctrine focuses along with nuclear capability in the Indian Ocean, power projection within the Indian Ocean.