Our Own Brzezinski Doctrine

While everyone's criticizing Modi for caving in to China in the Himalayas, I feel India should indeed try to pursue a “détente” policy with China on our disadvantageous Himalayan front (like America did with USSR on the European front) so that we can then pursue new offensive policy elsewhere (like America then did on Afghan front against USSR). In our case, instead of looking to Afghanistan, we should instead look at China’s greatest vulnerability, which is the Straits of Malacca chokepoint. Instead of thinking of Afghan-style mujahedin, we should draw inspiration from China’s “Little Blue Men”:

What China can do to others, we can do to them. But, as General Zia-ul-Haq used to say, “The water must boil, but not too hot.” Avoidance of full kinetic clash should be the priority, while applying a steady gentle squeeze on their most vulnerable spots.

China has massive land-power advantage, but at sea their advantage isn't as great, and it's also easier for other countries to come reinforce us against them at sea. And if China has to double down on CPEC just to bypass their vulnerable maritime supply lines, then that's forcing them to pump money down Pakistan's bottomless hole of corruption, as America foolishly did during its Afghan invasion. At any rate, it's better than fighting them on their preferred terrain.