Articles By Claude Arpi
Faking the Fake
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 27 Nov , 2017
Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama nominated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) has recently been in the news. The Global Times said that young Lama accused vendors on Taobao, an online...
Rules of Play: Avoid Unnecessary Reactions
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 25 Nov , 2017
Post the Doklam stand-off, one may think that a new page in Sino-Indian relations has been turned. But unless China drops ‘unrealistic’ claims on the boundary, no progress can be made The next...
Look West again, towards Paris
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 16 Nov , 2017
A PMO release said Prime Minister Modi appreciated “the invaluable contribution” of business leaders from both countries. The Narendra Modi government is well aware that it needs to diversify...
Why Vallabhbhai Patel strongly opposed Nehru's 'suicidal policy' of...
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 13 Nov , 2017
For several reasons, scarce scholarly research has been done on the internal history of the Congress; the main cause is probably that a section of the party would prefer to keep the history under...
Why all this fuss for a few Indian Tunnels?
By: Claude Arpi | Issue: Courtesy: http://claudearpi.blogspot.in/ | Date: 11 Nov , 2017
The meaning of ‘double standards’ is unknown in China. After The Economic Times reported that India plans to construct 17 highway tunnels totaling 100 kilometers along the line of actual...
China is Reinforcing its Border with India
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 09 Nov , 2017
The Middle Kingdom is winning the trust of the locals to safeguard its border. This must worry India. But can China win over the Tibetans who have largely been sympathetic towards India? At the...
Tibet: When Patel and Bajpai opposed Nehru
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 07 Nov , 2017
About my latest book It is usually assumed that Sardar Patel, the Deputy Prime Minister of India wrote the ‘prophetic’ letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister, detailing the...
Did Xi Jinping acknowledge the McMahon Line?
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 05 Nov , 2017
Soon after the conclusion of the 19th Congress, President Xi Jinping wrote a letter to two young Tibetan herders who had written to him introducing their village, Yume, north of Upper Subansiri...
Is Mr Xi the winner?
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 30 Oct , 2017
At the end of the 19th Congress, most of the Western media have declared President Xi Jinping, the winner. He is the most powerful leader since Mao, say the China watchers. But is it true? A great...
The Abiding Mystery of Kashgar
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 28 Oct , 2017
After years of silence over the sudden closure of the Indian Consulate in Kashgar, China, keen to have India as part of OBOR, is ready to reopen the consulate Post-Independence, one of the most...
Xi may not be all Powerful
By: Claude Arpi | Issue: Courtesy: http://claudearpi.blogspot.in/ | Date: 28 Oct , 2017
Nearly thirty years ago, one of the best China watchers, Belgium-born Simon Leys wrote about the ‘Art of Communist China watching’ in the New Times Book Review: “Without an ability to...
A Strategic Engagement with the European Union
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 26 Oct , 2017
With Modi having developed an excellent rapport with Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, it would make economic and strategic sense for India to partner Europe. The Franco-German project can be a...
The Communist High-Mass
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 21 Oct , 2017
The High-Mass of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has started. Every five years, it follows the same precise ritual. The outgoing CCP’s General Secretary (in the present case, Xi Jinping),...
The Indian government might well be asking, 'what will China do next?'
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 17 Oct , 2017
Post-Doklam, many observers, whether in the defence services or government circles, have been thinking “what could China do next to put India’s in its place.” Of course, Luo Zhaohu, the...
New infrastructure developments in Tibet
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 02 Oct , 2017
Lhasa-Lhoka Express Highway Yesterday the Lhasa-Nyingchi (or Nyingtri in Tibetan) High Grade Highway was opened for trial operations. Quoting from the TAR’s transportation department,Kangba...
Tibet: China moving the West ...and the South
By: Claude Arpi | Issue: Courtesy: http://claudearpi.blogspot.in/ | Date: 01 Oct , 2017
In the recent months, rapid developments have taken place in Western Tibet. This will be the object of several posts. Banning Foreign Tourists As the 19th Congress approaches, China is...
Chairman Xi shuffles his pack as China begins to analyse the Doklam incident
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 30 Sep , 2017
While the Doklam incident is over and many still rejoice that India ‘won’ the battle, some uncertainty remains. And if corrective measures are not taken from the Indian side, it is clear that...
China’s Strategic Thinking: Yesterday and Today
By: Claude Arpi | Issue: Courtesy: http://claudearpi.blogspot.in/ | Date: 19 Sep , 2017
Introduction ‘Strategic Leadership’ often does not mean ‘Morals and Ethical leadership’. One of the best examples is Mao Zedong. In Problems of War and Strategy, the Great Helmsman noted:...
Post-Doklam, Chinese Aggression not yet over
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 16 Sep , 2017
The renewed Chinese aggressiveness, including against India’s Army Chief, is probably triggered by a great sense of insecurity, not to say instability. The battle for Chairman Xi is far from...
Shutting down of old Silk Road exposes China's OBOR Hypocrisy
By: Claude Arpi | Date: 13 Sep , 2017
When Beijing today speaks of One Belt One Road, it omits to say there was once a flourishing commerce which it closed. In the fall of 1950, PN Kaul, a young colonel, was posted in Leh. In his...