On April 10, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an interview that China and India should seize the time to resolve the border issue that has lasted for many years. Modi also said that China-India relations are of great importance and significance to India, and that China and India are two big countries, and the relationship between the two countries is very important for world peace. Therefore, Modi stressed the hope that through constructive communication at the diplomatic and military levels, peace and tranquility on the border between the two countries will be restored.
Compared with Modi's previous tough statement, it is obvious that his attitude has softened, so why did Modi suddenly choose to change his tune?
India is a divided country, with a huge gap between the majority of the political and business elite and the lower echelons of India. The elite is acutely aware of the power gap between China and India, but most Indian elites, under the grip of radical nationalism, will only pander to this sentiment or remain silent.
Morty
In this context, the Internet jokes of "Little Mumbai of the East" and "Looking for China's Slums" were created. In a sense, it is precisely because of the radical nationalist sentiment that it is difficult for the Indian public to see the gap between China and India, which has also hindered the modernization promoted by the Modi government.
As the leader of India's political elite, Modi will not fail to see the gap between China and India, let alone the serious consequences of the deterioration of Sino-Indian relations.
Truth be told, Modi is less sophisticated than his predecessor, Manmoh Singh, in dealing with nationalism. But Modi is definitely a qualified politician, and several of the development policies he has introduced in office can be said to be the right medicine, although the methods are not so glamorous, but if they can be continued, India's completion of industrialization is not on paper.
Sino-Indian relations
For this reason, Modi has chosen radical religious nationalism in his ethnic policy, which has led to a high-pitched mood in Indian public opinion on foreign-related issues, and even xenophobia has begun to appear in India, especially against China, a neighboring country with contradictions and differences, and even Modi himself has been attacked to a certain extent. For example, in the Pangong Lake conflict that year, Modi said that the Chinese army did not enter Indian territory, and it was met with a frantic counterattack by Indian nationalists, calling Modi a "traitor".
India wants to industrialize, but first, it does not have primitive capital accumulation, second, it does not have a solid industrial base, and what is worse is that it still lacks an external environment conducive to India's development. In other words, India simply does not have the capacity to industrialize on its own.
The Western countries have already completed the transfer of industries, especially the United States, which has seriously hollowed out its industries, so it is engaged in the return of high-end industries, and the same is true for Europe, so there is only one way left for India's industrialization, waiting for China, a huge industrial country, to gradually complete its industrial upgrading, and then transfer these industries outward, so that India can get a piece of the pie, at least to ensure the start of India's industrialization.
But the problem is that while waiting for China to "send relief grain" and stirring up trouble on the Sino-Indian border, China will obviously not be indifferent, let alone let the production capacity be transferred to India, which is hostile to us, after all, there are still a large number of countries in Southeast Asia waiting for China's industrial transfer. As such, this is perhaps the most important logic for Modi's softening of his stance on the Sino-Indian border.
But then again, Modi may not be entirely to blame. For example, on April 9, Indian Defense Minister Manmohan Singh said in an interview that China's new name for southern Tibet would worsen Sino-Indian relations, and that the Indian military would be able to respond under appropriate circumstances. The response of the Modi government and the Indian military is in stark contrast. In a sense, there is a contradiction between the Indian government and the Indian military.
Specifically, Modi simply has no control over the military, especially the Indian Army. In addition, India, as a country that inherited the British civil service, does not have a high level of government control over the military, and the Modi government can almost say that it does not dare to cross the line on the issue of India's core interests.
Indian Army
If Modi wants to have a say in the Indian army, India's military reform and pension reform will not be difficult. In order to facilitate the control of the military, Modi personally supported a military confidant of his own, that is, India's Chief of Defense Staff Rawat, who fell to his death in a helicopter two years ago.
We know that the interests of the Indian military have never been allowed to be interfered with by the government. For example, on the issue of military spending, because of the problem of Sino-Indian relations, the military expenditure of the Indian Army has increased year by year, but the weaponry and tactics have not been greatly improved, on the contrary, it is difficult for the Indian army to modernize because of the large amount of funds consumed. As a country surrounded by the sea on three sides, it is logical that the Indian Ocean must be India's priority strategic choice, but now it is focusing on the land on the border, which is strange in itself.
Therefore, the logic behind Modi's statement is to promote the country's industrialization and the normalization of the country's military development, rather than just focusing on the border dispute with China, after all, China has little pressure to deal with India, but India is too much pressure to deal with China.