KOCHI: As tension mounts on the India-China border and the possibility of a direct conflict is discussed and debated widely, various views are emerging on the issues involving narratives from a history that spans many decades. Interestingly, a seven-page article was written by an undergraduate student about this 53 years ago. R K Vijaykrishnan, who was then doing his BA in Economics at Government Victoria College (Palakkad), wrote the predictive piece titled ‘Collective security for Southeast Asia’ for his college magazine.
The threat that India faced due to China’s aggressive expansionist policies since the 60’s, the failure of then Jawaharlal Nehru-led government to recognise the threat posed by China, and the consequential Sino-Indian war (1962), and the 1965 war with Pakistan were mentioned by Vijaykrishnan, former senior executive with Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), in his paper.
The steps that our country should have taken to curb the territorial ambitions of China in Southeast Asia is also discussed in detail. “India could not stand alone and needed to look for alignment with other neighbouring countries like Vietnam which was not under Chinese influence back then,” says the 72-year-old. “With the direct or indirect support of a major military power such as the US, India should then take the initiative to form an alliance with bordering countries under the Chinese rule to combat its aggression,” Vijaykrishnan opines. The government’s mistake in declining the offer of US president John F Kennedy who offered air support which could have halted the Chinese advance and territorial gains also finds a special mention.
According to him, strengthening the country’s defence and foreign policies is of utmost importance to stop a possible invasion of the country by China. “Even though there is economic cooperation between the two countries, they still see us as an enemy,” Vijaykrishnan says. Interested in the field of international relations from his high school days, Vijaykrishnan has been closely observing the ongoing tensions between the two countries.
“The issue of aligning with other countries has become more delicate and complex as countries like Nepal have turned against us by adopting a pro-China stand, while they were an ally of us back then. Hence , the situation has become extremely delicate and we should be careful in our dialogues with our neighbours and should not alienate them at aNYcost,” he said. After serving in FACT for more than 30 years and then working at a Media organisation, Vijayakrishnan is currently based in Kochi, working as a corporate trainer.