LETTERS – JUNE & JULY 2025
A need for better understanding
Sir,
Amit Agnihotri’s piece (‘South Asia’s strategic games’, May edition) provides a comprehensive overview of China & India’s economic and political rivalry and the delicate diplomatic path that both states must tread.
While tensions over a long-standing and unresolved territorial dispute play a significant role in this relationship, the dispute is actually symptomatic of a much broader and deeper geopolitical struggle.
The fact is that both China and India view themselves as civilisational states, believing that their special or exceptional status grants them exemption from global norms and rules. It is this worldview, along with their growing influence,which has introduced new areas of competition, from geo-economics to differing positions on global issues, such as the green energy transition.
And while Trump’s return to power has sent shockwaves through the global order, one of the unintended consequences of his re-election is that more space within the international system has been freed up for both countries, exacerbating this ongoing rivalry as both powers competeto control the space.
And as fears surrounding Trump’s more transactional and erratic foreign policy should in theory facilitate greater potential Sino-Indian cooperation, long-standing mutual mistrust will limit any alignment between the two states.
So as policy is increasingly shaped around a rising India as a counterweight to China, a clearer and deeper understanding of the two countries and their longstanding historical ties is essential, not just through the prism of the Western lens but also through the world view that each state holds of itself.
Hitesh Chaudhury
New Delhi
Reform under threat
Dear Editor
YS Gill’s article on the erosion of legal safeguards (‘Democratic backsliding, May edition) was an accurate account of the current situation in Indonesia and should concern Indonesians both here and abroad.
Having very successfully secured the youth vote during his election campaign by rebranding himself as a cuddly grandfather figure, activists are rightfully worried that now in power, Prabowo will drag the country in an authoritarian direction, given his well-documented anti-democratic views and the long list of human rights abuses which he is alleged to have committed in the past.
Yet while these concerns are valid, simply focusing on the personality and leadership style of the president detracts from the real problems in Indonesia which are much more structural.
And while it’s very likely that Prabowo will continue to exploit the law, just as Jokowi did before him, it will not be because he is necessarily hell-bent on destroying Indonesian democracy, but rather because of a relative absence of a pro-democratic opposition committed to defending democracy and rule of law.
So although Prabowo’s presidency is still in its infancy, we must remain vigilant and ready to act decisively and with courage if the situation demands it.
Agung Tono
Makassar, Indonesia
Cutting edge of chips
Sir
Yvonne Gill’s article on the battle for AI and microchip dominance (‘Asia, the new AI battleground?’, March issue) wasa thought-provoking read that highlights the almost‘arms race’ nature of this struggle.
With trade wars, tariffs and ever present security concerns impacting the world, as well as the real possibility of future pandemics, it has never been more important to diversify the microchip supply chain.That India, with its wealth of tech talent, could ‘rise as a semiconductor manufacturing hub and leader in the field of AI application and innovation’ and become a bigger hitter in chip design,is a prospect to be welcomed.
SR Jadhav
Mumbai
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