Description
There is a new ‘great game’ being played in the Buddhist Himalayas between India, China and Tibet, which makes for a crucial third player. Together, they are leveraging their influence with the Buddhist communities to create strategic dominance, with varying degrees of success.
China’s ‘Buddhist diplomacy’ has focused on Nepal and Bhutan, and the Indian Himalayan regions of Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, which have sizeable Buddhist populations and are vulnerable to this influence. The crisis in Doklam brought into focus what will be one of the most difficult issues to unfold in the Himalayas in future: India’s insufficient ability to deal with China only through the prism of military power.
About the Author
AMBASSADOR PHUNCHOK STOBDAN is a distinguished academician, diplomat and author, and an expert on foreign policy and national security. He is a known authority on Central and Inner Asian affairs. He last served as India’s ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic. He has previously served in the National Security Council Secretariat and been director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Jammu and Kashmir. He is the founding president of the Ladakh
International Centre, Leh, and has been senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, as well as distinguished fellow at the United Services Institution.






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