Shiv Shanker Menon, Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy

Abstract

As India continues to wrestle with the Chinese military aggression in the Galwan Valley in the Union Territory of Ladakh, similarly the South East Asian nations are tackling the brazen military expansionism of the Chinese in the South China Sea. A sudden surge of hostilities triggered by China has led the world community to question Beijing’s political ambition and military aggression. In India’s context, it is all the more imperative that she comprehend the motive of the Chinese, as she has, in the recent years, encountered a rise in tensions along the India-China Border. A comprehensive answer for the Chinese posture lies in Shivshankar Menon’s ‘Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy’. A retired career diplomat and a former National Security Adviser to the Indian Prime Minister between 2010-14, Menon had served as India’s Ambassador to China between 2000-03. Prior to 2000-03, he served a couple of tenures in China and had also completed his PhD on ‘Ancient India-China Kingship.’