Mentor’s Comment

As the world enters a phase of geopolitical churn and institutional fatigue, the call for a reformed, people-centric global governance system grows louder. The 75th anniversary of India-China diplomatic ties and the 80th year of the UN offer a historical moment: two Asian giants, once colonised, now rising powers, can redefine global order. For UPSC aspirants, this theme bridges multilateral diplomacy, global reforms, and India’s evolving foreign policy—key areas across GS Paper 2 and IR essays.

Introduction

The year 2025 marks a milestone in both bilateral and global history. India and China, home to over 2.8 billion people, commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations, even as the United Nations celebrates its 80th anniversary. Against the backdrop of unilateralism and weakening multilateralism, the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) proposed by China, with India’s cooperation, offers a blueprint for a more equitable international order. As Asia’s two leading powers move from rivalry to partnership, their convergence could transform the world’s governance architecture, symbolising a decisive shift toward multipolarity and shared prosperity.

Why is the India-China cooperation in 2025 a landmark moment?

1. Historical Context: The two leaders, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi, have met 18 times since 2014, an unprecedented frequency symbolising sustained engagement despite border tensions.
2. Symbolic Restoration: The bilateral meeting at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan (2024) and now at the 25th SCO Summit in Tianjin (2025) reflects a conscious reset in relations.
3. Global Expectation: Their 19th meeting during the Tianjin Summit is being seen globally as a moment to restore balance to multilateral decision-making, especially amid Western dominance fatigue.
4. Public Diplomacy: Both sides emphasise “partners, not rivals,” signaling a shift from competition to cooperation.

What is changing in the global governance discourse?

1. Erosion of Trust: The early 21st century witnessed rising unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemonism, eroding faith in international institutions.
2. UN at 80: The UN system, though foundational, now faces criticism for its limited representation of developing nations and sluggish response to global crises.
3. Reform Imperative: The question before humanity is not just “who governs” but “how governance is shared.” The article highlights the need for reform without rupture, evolving existing systems rather than replacing them.
4. Asia’s Moment: The decline of Western dominance and the rise of Asia and Eurasia are redefining the rules of the game, with India and China at the center.

What is the Global Governance Initiative (GGI)?

1. New Vision: The GGI, announced by President Xi at the Tianjin SCO Summit, aims to correct the deficit in global governance by promoting a fair, inclusive order.

• Five Core Principles:

1. 1. Sovereign Equality: Respect for all nations’ independence and dignity; greater democracy in international relations.
   2. Rule of Law: Equal application of international law and rejection of double standards.
   3. Multilateralism: Strengthening the UN as the core platform for global decision-making.
   4. People-Centric Approach: Governance should prioritise well-being, safety, and fulfillment of citizens globally.
   5. Real Results Orientation: Developed nations must shoulder more responsibility, while developing nations must cooperate for shared solutions.
   6. Essence: The GGI is not about creating parallel institutions but reforming and improving existing ones to respond effectively to modern challenges.

How can India-China cooperation strengthen multilateralism?

1. Shared Responsibilities: Both countries, as major developing economies and SCO/BRICS members, bear the responsibility to defend international fairness and justice.
2. Strategic Coordination: The leaders’ dialogue stresses communication on major international and regional issues to bridge divides in the Global South.

Complementary Visions:

1. China’s “community of shared future for mankind”
2. India’s “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (One Earth, One Family, One Future)
3. Together, they embody the moral and developmental leadership needed for a post-Western global order.
4. Practical Gains: Resumption of direct flights, maintenance of border stability, and enhanced trade cooperation show concrete steps toward normalisation.

What challenges lie ahead for India-China collaboration?

1. Trust Deficit: Lingering border disputes and differing political models may slow strategic trust-building.
2. Competing Ambitions: While both aspire to leadership in the Global South, perception management and narrative balance will be crucial.
3. Western Reaction: The West may perceive India-China cooperation as a counterweight to transatlantic power, potentially complicating India’s strategic autonomy.
4. Need for Institutionalisation: Long-term progress demands institutional mechanisms, track-II dialogues, multilateral coordination cells, and joint UN reform working groups.

Conclusion

The India-China partnership in 2025 signals more than a diplomatic milestone, it represents a potential rebalancing of world order. As the UN turns 80, the call for shared leadership between emerging powers grows urgent. If pursued with mutual trust and strategic maturity, the GGI-led collaboration can make the 21st century truly an Asian century rooted in equity, inclusivity, and sustainability. In a fractured world, cooperation, not competition, may be the only path to survival and progress.

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Mentor’s Comment

Operation Sindoor may have concluded in the skies, but its echoes now reverberate across the sea. With both India and Pakistan recalibrating their naval postures, the maritime domain has emerged as the new theatre of strategic competition. This article explores how post-Sindoor developments from naval manoeuvres to capability upgrades are reshaping deterrence dynamics, inviting questions about escalation control, external involvement, and evolving doctrines in the Indian Ocean.

Introduction

While the standoff with Pakistan in May 2025 ended in the air domain, subsequent developments reveal a strategic shift to the maritime theatre. Both nations are now engaged in assertive naval signalling, deploying assets, testing missiles, and broadcasting intent. India’s Operation Sindoor, initially a demonstration of naval deterrence, has transitioned into a long-term posture recalibration with new vessels, strategic patrols, and sharper rhetoric. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s warning on October 2 about a “resounding response” to any Pakistani misadventure in the Sir Creek region, coupled with Pakistan’s launch of the Hangor-class submarine PNS Mangro and missile tests, underline a renewed contest at sea. This is significant — because for decades, the India-Pakistan rivalry was air and land-focused, not maritime. The sea, it seems, is now the new frontier of strategic signalling.

Why in the News

The post-Operation Sindoor phase marks the first time in decades that India and Pakistan are simultaneously signalling deterrence through sustained maritime manoeuvres, overlapping missile tests, and forward deployments. India has conducted its first joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea and commissioned the indigenously designed INS Nistar. Pakistan, meanwhile, has expanded naval activity from Karachi to Gwadar, launched new submarines and ballistic missiles, and tested the P282 ship-launched missile. This pattern is unprecedented not just in intensity but in its potential to redefine deterrence stability and crisis escalation in the Indian Ocean.

Why is the Maritime Theatre Gaining Strategic Centrality?

1. Shift from air to sea: After Operation Sindoor’s air engagement, both sides are redirecting deterrence signalling to the Arabian Sea, with forward deployments and missile tests.
2. Recalibration of naval posture: India’s Operation Sindoor emphasised a forward deterrent posture, a readiness to act first if provoked.
3. Symbolic rhetoric: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement evoking the 1965 war reinforced the seriousness of India’s deterrent message.

What Signals Are India and Pakistan Sending at Sea?

1. India’s assertive posture: Through INS Nistar, stealth frigates, and joint patrols, India projects both self-reliance and Indo-Pacific alignment.
2. Pakistan’s parallel moves: Launch of PNS Mangro, expansion of infrastructure in Sir Creek, and P282 missile tests signify deterrence-by-denial.
3. Operational friction: Overlapping NOTAMs and live-fire drills, sometimes just 60 nautical miles apart, indicate heightened tension and risk of miscalculation.

How Does the Naval Balance of Power Look Now?

1. India’s advantage but narrowing: Despite a numerical and geographical edge, India’s fleet faces ageing issues, raising modernization concerns.
2. Pakistan’s modernization: With Chinese-designed submarines and Babur-class corvettes from Türkiye, Pakistan’s Navy now wields improved radar, EW, and anti-surface weaponry.
3. Emerging parity: The Navy Chief’s acknowledgment of Pakistan’s “surprising growth” underscores a reality where India’s maritime superiority is no longer absolute.

What Makes Maritime Escalation More Risky?

1. Harder escalation control: Unlike air skirmishes, naval engagements are slow, continuous, and harder to de-escalate.
2. Psychological vulnerability: Memories of 1971 naval strikes amplify Pakistan’s sensitivity; even limited Indian action could trigger disproportionate reaction.
3. Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD): Pakistan’s Gwadar and Karachi hubs serve both operational and psychological roles in denying India unchallenged dominance.
4. Chinese factor: The PLAN’s presence at Gwadar increases risk of external entanglement in future crises.

Is There an External and Doctrinal Dimension?

1. China’s role: Chinese involvement in Gwadar and Karachi raises fears of dual-use support during crises.
2. Türkiye’s growing linkages: Supply and training cooperation with Pakistan diversify its defence dependencies, complicating India’s strategic calculations.
3. India’s Indo-Pacific strategy: Joint patrols and multilateral engagement hint at a twofold Indian approach, deterrence towards Pakistan and cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.
4. Doctrinal drift: Both nations risk anchoring strategy in outdated crisis models, despite new technologies like drones and hypersonic missiles changing escalation ladders.

Does the Emerging Maritime Pattern Help or Hurt Stability?

1. Persistent signalling: Continuous naval presence, unlike air sorties, lingers — shaping adversarial perception and intent.
2. Learning by observation: Regular drills, while risky, can create mutual operational awareness that paradoxically reduces fog of war.
3. Dual outcome: The same actions that raise tensions might also stabilize future crises through transparency of capability and doctrine.

Conclusion

Operation Sindoor may have ended, but its maritime aftermath is redrawing South Asia’s deterrence geography. The Arabian Sea has emerged as a stage for calibrated signalling, doctrinal experimentation, and external power play. India faces a dual challenge to assert deterrence without escalation and prepare for future crises where the sea, not the sky, sets the tone. The Indian Navy’s modernization drive, from indigenously designed vessels to Indo-Pacific collaborations, suggests a conscious shift one that seeks to combine strategic restraint with decisive readiness. The sea, long a silent frontier, is now a theatre of both opportunity and peril.

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