Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) national executive member Ram Madhav on Monday said that the big challenge for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government at the Centre is not about dealing with Pakistan or Sri lanka but with China.
The RSS leader said this in Guwahati at a function organised on the occasion of release of his book Uneasy Neighbours: India and China after Fifty Years of the War.
“There were lot of discussions and even criticism when Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa along with other SAARC leaders were invited for Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
But the recent telephonic conservation between Modi and li Keqiang passed off almost without making flutter. This is primarily because the popular awareness about understanding China is still very less in India compared to the understanding we have regarding Pakistan or Sri lanka," Madhav said.
He, however, termed the conservation between Modi and Keqiang as a good beginning for building relation with Beijing.
"During Nehru's time the understanding on China was far less. The big question is whether we are in better situation now in understanding ChinaIJ We have to understand that country very well to deal with that country," Madhav said, ruling out any future possibility of conventional war between the two countries.
According to Madhav, China primarily deploys three strategies while dealing with India- "engagement to contain, encirclement and engagement with our enemies."
“The engagement to contain is deployed through aggressive public relation, while encirclement is building up strategic locations. If we understand China well, we can deal with the country efficiently,” Madhav said, adding that the opening of the Nathu la pass in Sikkim for trade during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time did not serve India's interests.