India emulating China's 'wolf warrior' diplomacy with Canada, sans the warfare
New Delhi’s decision to ask Canada to reduce its number of diplomats in India by over 40 is the latest in the downward spiral of India-Canada relations. There is now a danger that India’s words and actions are going well past the point of serving its long-term interests. Whatever the truth of the multiple allegations hurled at each other by India and Canada, the fact is that as the emerging power, an Asian one and a developing country still, the former cannot and must not lose sight of the fact that global institutional structures and narratives are still not entirely in its favour.
In this global balance, India is still a distant third to the West comprising the US and its allies in pole position followed by China. The US is a global power with global considerations to take into account and it has much deeper defence and intelligence ties in the Five Eyes arrangement which includes Canada than it does with India. It will naturally be less than fully enthusiastic in backing India even if many in this country now seem to count American support as a given in India’s global ambitions.
This is the reality India faces, its foreign minister S. Jaishankar’s attempts to paint the picture otherwise notwithstanding. Meanwhile, the Chinese appear to have given up the old Deng Xiaoping maxim of ‘hiding one’s capacities, biding one’s time’ if their words and actions in the last few years are any indication.
Read more on livemint.com
