One of the most troubling recent developments has been the improvement of relations between China and India.
For more than five years, the two countries have maintained highly strained ties due to border clashes. Today, however, they are speaking about friendship and cooperation — a shift that raises serious questions for global security.
For those who follow international geopolitics, this is a worrying signal. In the current climate of global tension, many had hoped India would side with democratic powers in the strategic confrontation with major authoritarian states. With its vast human resources and a powerful navy, India could have played a decisive role on the world stage.
But if China and India begin dividing spheres of influence and building closer ties, counterbalancing their combined power will be extremely difficult. Both nations possess not only immense populations but also significant military capabilities on land and at sea.
From a geopolitical perspective, a China–India rapprochement could create favorable conditions for destabilization in other regions. Russia, for instance, may double down on its ambitions in Europe, while India could expand its influence in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East. At the same time, China would gain greater freedom to pressure Japan and assert control over disputed islands in the Pacific.
It is important to note that this is not a prediction of inevitable war. However, the leaders of major authoritarian powers are aging, their ambitions are higher than at any point in the last three decades, and the old world order is steadily unraveling. If their ultimate goal is the creation of a new unipolar world centered in Asia, there may never be a better opportunity to pursue it.