Archive · 9 Aug 2026
China's Wars: Vijay Gokhale decodes Beijing's military strategy and coercion
A very smart diplomat from India named Vijay Gokhale wrote a new book.
He spent many years working in China and studying how its leaders think.
The book tries to explain why China sometimes uses its army.
He looked at four old conflicts involving China.
One of them was a war between India and China in 1962.
He says that war was planned a long time in advance.
He also says China often talks and fights at the same time.
That means it holds meetings while also showing military strength.
He thinks India should get ready for many years of tension with China.
He warns that a big conflict can't be completely ruled out.
Vijay Gokhale, India's former Foreign Secretary, has written 'China's Wars: The Politics and Diplomacy Behind its Military Coercion.'
The book examines four case studies: the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, the 1962 India-China war, the 1969 Sino-Soviet conflict, and the China-Vietnam War.
Gokhale argues the 1962 invasion was 'carefully planned' rather than a sudden counter-response to Indian aggression.
He says the era of peaceful coexistence is at an end and India must prepare for a prolonged period of armed coexistence.
The book details China's 'fight and talk' strategy, pairing grey-zone coercion with negotiations to achieve political goals.
- Who
- Vijay Gokhale, former Indian Foreign Secretary and India's ambassador to China (2016-17)
- What
- Published a book decoding China's military strategy and its 'fight and talk' approach to coercion
- When
- The article does not state a publication date; it is described as his latest book, following 'The Long Game' (2021)
- Where
- Focused on India-China relations; case studies cover the Taiwan Strait, India, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam
- Why
- To decode Beijing's opaque decision-making and draw lessons for India amid the ongoing border standoff with China
- Book title
- 'China's Wars: The Politics and Diplomacy Behind its Military Coercion'
- Author
- Vijay Gokhale, former Indian Foreign Secretary (retired 2020)
- Author's background
- Career diplomat who served in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beijing; India's ambassador to China (2016-17); held the China desk in the Ministry of External Affairs
- Previous book
- 'The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India' (2021)
- Case studies
- 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, 1962 India-China war, 1969 Sino-Soviet conflict, China-Vietnam War
- Central assessment
- The 1962 war was carefully planned and delivered a 'psychological-political blow' to India
- Key strategy analysed
- 'Fight and talk' combining grey-zone coercion with negotiations
- Recent incidents cited
- Depsang, Chumar (2013-14), Demchok, Doklam, Galwan