'India and China rivalry can be resolved through cold peace'

Rising Asian powers India and China have an opportunity to build "robust" ties even as they could resolve their new type of rivalry to establish dominance with "cold peace" in the 21st century, according to a new book.
Written by Jeff M Smith, director of South Asia Programs and Kraemer Strategy Fellow at the US-based American Foreign Policy Council, the book envisages that the world may witness a dramatic change in the global pattern in the 21st century, in which several powers including India and China will rise challenging the dominance of US.
The book 'Cold Peace: China-India Rivalry in the Twenty- First Century' begins with an observation that "the 21st century will witness China and India reclaim their positions atop the global hierarchy of nations."

"The author predicts that China and India, the two largest Asian civilisations, will join the US in an elite club of global superpowers. Both nations not only share prospects of becoming the most vigorous and prosperous economies in the world, but are also developing their military strength to complement their economic clout," the Global Times reported quoting the book.
The book, however, predicts that neither side will reach its peak without vying with the other.
"In actuality, the author uses a security studies paradigm, assuming that although both sides have enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations for decades after the 1962 border war, a new type of rivalry is taking shape between China and India," it said.

"As the author mentions, open rivalry between China and India in 1962 has slipped into the confines of a 'cold peace' (an unstable peace among nations formerly engaged in a war), offering the foundation to both nations to build robust diplomatic and economic relations," the paper said.

According to the author, his book "recognises that the elements of rivalry constitute an important, at times, predominant, dimension of bilateral relations."
By quoting renowned scholars, officials and military officers in China, India and the US, the paper said that the author showed full picture of Sino-Indian relations, giving a neutral analysis of the bilateral rivalry.

A whole section on third parties like US and Pakistan stated to be the two major levers that could have a huge impact on Sino-Indian relations, it said.
"The author also probes the significance of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Since China is seeking energy security from the Indian Ocean and India is looking east to extend its influence, geopolitical factors give Sino-Indian rivalry more international significance," the paper said.