Sino-Indian rivalry reshaping AsiaBy Brahma ChellaneyThree years after China stealthily began encroaching on India’s territory in the Himalayas, no end is in sight for the two countries’ border standoff. Since then, India has more than matched China’s military deployments, fueling the largest-ever military buildup in the Himalayas, one of the world’s most inhospitable regions. In an effort to strengthen its territorial claim and provoke India, China has Sinicized the names of sites in Arunachal Pradesh. Moreover, the Sino-Indian rivalry has flared up at a time when China’s economy is running into long-term constraints, including a shrinking and rapidly aging population, and slowing productivity growth. With the US-China rivalry deepening, the last thing China needed was to make a permanent enemy of its largest neighbor.
