‘Full-scale war between India, China likely soon’, predicts political analyst Desai

International

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By Oneindia

New Delhi, August 5: Noted commentator on international affairs Meghnad Desai in an interview predicted that a war could break out within a month between India and China.

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Desai's comment has come at a time when both the nations are exchanging heated arguments in regard to the ongoing standoff in Doklam, lying in the tri-junction region of Bhutan, China and India.

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"Even today, nobody is contemplating that the whole Doklam thing could break anytime. We could be in a full-scale war with China within a month. At that stage it will not be controllable. It may come as a surprise, but that is when the defence co-operation of India (with various countries) will bear fruit," Desai told IANS in an interview.

UK-based Indian-origin Desai, who is also a Labour Peer in the British House of Lords, observed that if a war is to break out in the two theatres, it will see the United States and India on one side and China on the other.

He added that the fate of the ongoing Doklam standoff would largely depend upon events in the South China Sea.

Desai did not consider the Doklam standoff a mere India-China issue but rather equated it to the geo-political tensions across the globe, primarily in the South China Sea.

When again asked if a war is really likely to break out, the Padma Bhushan awardee, said ,"I am not a jyotisi (astrologer). I cannot say what day or date but I think at this time it is very likely that we will be in a state of full-scale war with China very soon. And mind you, on several fronts, not just Doklam. It is just one frontier, they will start from all places, across the northern Himalayas,"

Regarding the US' reaction in case there is a war between India and China and whether Washington would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India, Desai said, "Absolutely".

"Ultimately, you have to understand that India cannot stand up to China without American help and support. America cannot stand up to China without Indian help. That is the symmetry in this relationship," he added.

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