In this episode, Dr. Matthias Catón interviews Sujan Chinoy, the Director General of the Indian think tank IDSA. The former Ambassador is an expert in Indo-China relations. They discuss the current political situation and the ongoing border conflict between the two countries, which has been going on for decades but is again tense since 2020. Despite the political and military tensions, trade between the two countries has increased over the past years.
They talk about attempts to decouple supply chains partially from China to make them less dependent on a country whose geopolitical ambitions may make cooperation more difficult in the future. Ambassador Chinoy sees excellent potential for India to benefit from this diversification, not least because of the demographic advantage of a young population.
Looking into the future, Chinoy believes that China has a long way to go to catch up to the United States economically and militarily. While he recognizes the potential of increasing global conflicts, he does not believe we will see a new bipolar world. Today’s complexities and interdependencies are too deep for such a simplistic division.
About the guest
Sujan Chinoy has been the Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, since January 2019. A career diplomat from 1981-2018, he was India’s Ambassador to Japan and Mexico and High Commissioner of India to Belize and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
A specialist with over two decades of experience in China and East Asia, he headed the India-China Expert Group of Diplomatic & Military Officials dealing with boundary disputes and confidence-building measures. During his Foreign Service career, he served in Hong Kong and Beijing, and as Consul General in Shanghai. He also served as the Consul General of India in Sydney.
He was India’s Representative to the First Committee at the UN dealing with disarmament and international security and later the Deputy Head of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. On deputation to India’s National Security Council Secretariat for four years, he anchored national security policy issues and strategic dialogues with counterparts worldwide.
He has rich experience in dealing with India’s extended neighborhood, terrorism and extremism, Indo-Pacific and maritime security, defense reforms and modernization, infrastructure, and connectivity. He has spearheaded several studies for the Indian government on external and internal national security issues. He contributes extensively to newspapers and journals, besides lecturing widely in India and worldwide. He is also the Indian Chair of the Think20 process during India’s Presidency of the G20.
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