ABP Ideas of India: Maintaining that the rise of China was the most important shift in geopolitical landscape in recent years, Indian-American journalist and CNN host Fareed Zakaria on Saturday said India needs to decide where does it stand in the strategic divide -- by being in China's orbit or by alligning with Western powers.
Speaking at ABP Network's "Wildstone presents Ideas of India Summit", Zakaria said India has not strategically thought its place in the world for the past 20-30 years.
"India needs to have a guiding national security strategy to postition its space in the world. It has to make strategic choices. If you are not willing to make choices, it means you don't have a strategy," Zakaria said.
The CNN host said China was the new great power in the block that would cause a seismic disturbance in the international politcal system.
When asked about what steps India should take against an aggresive China at its borders, Zakaria said, "India should be asking itself how can it buy insurance against China and how will it allign itself with other powers of the world. (Former prime minister) Manmohan Singh began the process. The Delhi bureaucracy is deeply resistant to change."
The CNN host also said that the Indian society was more foward looking than the Indian state.
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The eastern Ladakh border standoff between India and China erupted on May 5, 2020, following a clash in the Pangong lake areas. On June 15, 2020, a violent face-off between the armies of India and China led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers. Chinese People's Liberation Army lost 42 soldiers in the clash, an Australian newspaper has claimed.
So far, the two sides have completed the disengagement process in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
When asked what India should do if China continues to take more territory, Zakaria said the country should look at how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky handled the invasion of Russia. He said India has to hustle on the world stage.
"Look at how Zelensky has handled it. World is seeing the Russian invasion largely through Ukrainian eyes. Ukraine has put in place a good communication system. Zelensky has used the power of media to address US Congress, German Bundestag and Japanese Parliament. To each, he has asked a question: We are dying for you, when are you going to help us?" the noted journalist said.
He said Pakistan had already made a strategic choice by alligning with China and the relationship will only grow deeper. "China will use pak to maintain instablity in India," Zakaria said.
Zakaria also said India was going to be site of next tech revolution. "You need smart technically trained people, big market and ample capital, liquidity. India is the only country where all three conditions are satisfied," he said.