Chinese Objectives in South Asia: "Anti-Hegemony" vs. "Collective Security"

Abstract

THE YEAR 1971 was a watershed in Chinese relations with countries of South Asia. The quarrels between East and West Pakistan flared into a full-fledged secressionist movement, Pakistan acted as an intermediary between China and the United States, and India institutionalized its special relationship with the Soviet Union in the form of the Indo-Soviet treaty of friendship. Fears of direct Chinese involvement were laid to rest once the Indians attacked East Pakistan in December 1971, and the Chinese were unable to do much more than issue diplomatic diatribes. Any question of military involvement (or threat of involvement of the 1965 variety) became moot after Delhi's alliance with Moscow. The latter fact demonstrated the reality which has characterized Chinese policies in South Asia-namely, that the USSR is the focal point around which Chinese policy revolves. This paper will examine the specific ways in which Moscow affects Chinese policies in the subcontinent in the post-1971 period. In addition, it will identify the priorities and the problems which confront China's relations with India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.