India-China border confrontation: New Delhi prepares economic sanctions

Protest march in New Delhi against China, June 19, 2020. REUTERS / Anushree Fadnavis

Text by: RFI Follow

The tension fell on the Sino-Indian border of the Himalayas. Four days ago, the deadliest confrontation between the two largest armies in the world since 1967 took place in this contested border area. Twenty Indian soldiers died and an unknown number of Chinese. The two countries accuse each other of being responsible for the clash, and New Delhi is now preparing a response, in the form of economic sanctions. But its room for maneuver is limited.

Publicity

Read more

From our correspondent in New Delhi ,   Sébastien Farcis

The Indian response cannot be military: the Chinese army is much superior and has built much more efficient installations along the Himalayan border. It will therefore be economical: New Delhi plans to cancel a rail equipment installation contract, worth 55 million euros, awarded 4 years ago to a Chinese company.

India should also exclude Chinese firms from telecommunications contracts. Which would mean prohibiting Huawei from offering its 5G technology to India. Finally, India could end all direct flights with China and prohibit foreign companies traveling to China from flying over its territory. A sanction already imposed last year in Pakistan, after an attack on a group of Pakistani origin.

But the total economic boycott is unrealistic, as India depends on Chinese imports of phones and pharmaceutical components. Finally, New Delhi should neither fundamentally change its diplomacy towards Beijing nor get very close to Taiwan, because India needs the support of China to hope to obtain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Telecom
  • India
  • China
  • Transport
  • Defense