STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

China’s India Policy in the 1950s: From Friendship to Antagonism

Daniel Balazs is a PhD candidate working on Sino-Indian relations, at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
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  • November 2020
    Volume: 
    44
    Issue: 
    6
    Articles

    What led to the Sino-Indian militarized confrontations in 1959? I argue that Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai became a victim of changed perceptions in China. As long as China’s external and internal environment was relatively secure, India was seen as a potential ally, and Sino-Indian relations thrived. As external and internal pressures on China mounted, India’s behaviour vis-à-vis the Dalai Lama’s flight from China and the territorial dispute was perceived by China as reactionary. This change in perceptions prevented Beijing from adopting a conciliatory approach to India’s claims and eventually led to the 1962 border war.

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