Doklam dispute shows India must pick its battles, as China seeks to be the centre of the world

Shyam Saran says while China’s rise is remarkable, a recast history is put forward to legitimise its claim to Asian hegemony, and its Doklam stance aims to weaken the regional alliance between India and Bhutan

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Recasting a complex history to reflect a Chinese centrality that never existed is part of China’s current narrative of power. Illustration: Craig Stephens

Published: 12:13pm, 28 Jul 2017Updated: 6:08pm, 28 Jul 2017

India is embroiled in a prolonged stand-off with Chinese forces on the Doklam plateau. China may have been caught off guard after Indian armed forces confronted a Chinese road-building team in Bhutanese territory. Peaceful resolution of the issue requires awareness of the context for the unfolding events. China has engaged in incremental nibbling advances in this area, with Bhutanese protests followed by solemn commitments not to disturb the status quo. But the intrusions continued. This time, the Chinese signalled intention to establish a permanent presence, expecting the Bhutanese to acquiesce while underestimating India’s response.

Managing the China challenge requires understanding the history of the Chinese civilization and the world view of its people, formed over 5,000 years of tumultuous history.

The ideas of US naval officer Alfred Thayer Mahan and British geographer Halford Mackinder are just as discernible in Chinese strategic thinking today as concepts derived from the ancient strategist, Sun Tzu. The “Belt and Road Initiative” is Mackinder and Mahan in equal measure: the belt, designed to secure Eurasia, dominance over which would grant global hegemony, was suggested by Mackinder in 1904; the road, which straddles the oceans, enabling maritime ascendancy, is indispensable in pursuing hegemony, according to Mahan in the late 19th century.

Dancers perform in a variety programme titled “Millennial Road” for the Belt and Road Forum, in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Xinhua

China’s pursuit of predominance at the top of the regional and global order, with the guarantee of order, has an unmistakable American flavour. It also echoes Confucius, who argued that harmony and hierarchy are intertwined.

China uses templates of the past ... to construct a modern narrative of power

China uses templates of the past as instruments of legitimisation, to construct a modern narrative of power. One key element of the narrative is that China’s role as Asia’s dominant power restores a position the nation occupied through most of history. The period from the mid-18th century until China’s liberation in 1949, when the country was reduced to semi-colonial status, subjected to invasions by imperialist powers and Japan, is characterised as an aberration. The tributary system is presented as artful statecraft evolved by China to manage interstate relationships in an asymmetrical world. What is rarely acknowledged is that China was a frequent tributary to keep marauding tribes at bay. The Tang emperor paid tribute to the Tibetans as well as to the fierce Xiongnu tribes to keep the peace.