Bochen Liu’s paper, ‘An Analysis of Sino-Indian Border Dispute: The Perspective of Realism’, analyses India-China border tensions through the prism of Realism. This school of thought focuses on the State’s self-interest, power struggles, and security interests that drive their strategic actions. Published on 24 January 2025, the paper discusses how the competition for geopolitical influence and territorial expansion fuels tensions between India and China, especially in resource-rich and strategically important areas such as Arunachal Pradesh. Both countries perceive the disputed areas as crucial to their national unity and sovereignty, further entrenching their staunch positions. The domestic political constraints add further layers to the conflict, with governments attempting to avoid appearing weak before strong nationalist sentiments. The paper also discusses the security dilemma at the heart of the conflict, where each action by one side to improve their security is seen by the other as threatening, leading to military buildup and increasing distrust. This self-reinforcing cycle, caused by this dilemma, has led to increased military deployment and infrastructure build-up along the border, resulting in events like the 2020 border clashes. Liu also discusses the role played by external actors, especially the United States, whose military alliance with India is seen by China as an outright challenge to its territorial prerogatives.
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