By Ankit Panda
Both developments came in late 2013 and yield important lessons about China’s preferences in border disputes.
In light of China’s recent decision to cast an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over most of the East China Sea, it’s worth revisiting the recent bilateral agreement between India and China. The so-called Border Defense Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) was signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang on October 23 in response to the incursion of Chinese troops into the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir, west of the Line of Actual Control (LoAC) which demarcates Chinese-administered Aksai Chin from Indian-administered Kashmir. China’s ADIZ strategy in the East China Sea might hold important lessons for India in its future border dealings with China; the differences in the two approaches are worth appreciating.
The India-China BDCA can be read as a spectrum of confidence-building measures (CBMs) between the two rivals — it’s an attempt to achieve Li Keqiang’s stated desire for “tranquility” on the border as well as Manmohan Singh’s desire for “predictability.” As my colleague Shannon Tiezzi noted earlier this week, China’s stated objectives in establishing the ADIZ over the East China Sea are to establish a “safety zone.” The similarities between the two approaches end with these rhetorical flourishes.
Read the full story at The Diplomat