The book is a quintessential work of almost four decades of serving in the Indian Foreign Service. ‘A disconcerting read, but indispensable’

Narendra Modi invites China’s President Xi Jinping for a private dinner in his home state (Gujarat) in 2014, when he was first sworn in as India’s 18th Prime Minister. However, as the two leaders sat convivially together on a 

 or traditional swing at Ahmedabad’s newly developed Sabarmati riverfront waterpark, followed by a private dinner where 150 Gujrati delicacies were served, more than 200 People’s Liberation Army troops intruded Chumar in eastern Ladakh.

If such contradictory signals should puzzle an observer, Ambassador Vijay Gokhale in his book, ‘The Long Game’ helps make sense of them as he painstakingly analyses the Chinese style of diplomacy- a style that has been consistent since Zhou Enlai’s time even if in recent times it has acquired a certain ‘wolf-warrior’ facet.

The Long game is a path-breaking study of six critical negotiations between India and China. The book is further divided into 7 chapters. The first titled, 

 highlights the process of negotiations started between Independent India and the newly established ‘People’s Republic of China’. The second chapter titled, 

extensively covers the negotiations as well as the frictions which eventually led to the agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibetan region of China and India on 29th April 1954. The third chapter titled, 

‘Pokhran – How to untie a Knot from the Tiger’s Neck’

 deals with the diplomatic fall-out of India’s five nuclear tests on 11 and 13 May 1998. The fourth chapter titled, 

‘Sikkim – Half a Linguistic Pirouette’

 looks at how China dealt with India after the merger of Sikkim with India in 1975 changed the status quo, including how both sides drew upon their past experiences to fashion the best possible outcome in the negotiations. It also looks at how China adjusted tactics and negotiating briefs in the pursuit of its objectives. The fifth chapter titled, 

 deals with how China crafted its diplomatic strategy to try and convince the international community not to make an exception for India on the Indo-US nuclear deal, and how India’s nuanced conduct of diplomacy yielded a desirable outcome.  The sixth chapter titled, 

‘Masood Azhar – The Principle of Consensus’

 looks at the Chinese strategy and tactics in dealing with India’s request to put the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed’s chief, Maulana Masood Azhar as a terrorist in the UNSC 1267 Sanctions list. The final chapter titled, ‘Lessons for India’ is a summation of the lessons drawn from the six case studies on how China negotiates with India, it also acts as an unofficial guiding doctrine for future Indian negotiators.

According to Gokhale, the Chinese diplomatic style has always been theatrical, in which case the ‘wolf-warrior’ element in recent Chinese policy is only a shift in the theatrical register, and not be confused as a display of authentic emotion. One of the lessons is that the personalised style of diplomacy does not work with them.

Beijing offered an east-west swap that would have potentially settled the border issue broadly along the lines of the present LAC – an offer made by Zhou in 1960 and renewed by Deng Xiaoping in 1980. India never took it up. Were these missed opportunities? An 

 in the book was well worth exploring, where the author could have commented on the seriousness of Beijing with its offer. 

Ambassador Shyam Saran in his book, ‘How China sees India and the World’ demystifies the Chinese imagined self-narrative of itself being the ‘The Middle Kingdom’. While Ambassador Gokhale in his book, ‘The Long Game’ highlights how these narratives are maliciously curated and reiterated to create a 

 which helps them justify their actions. ‘The Long Game’ fills an important void in the field of Indo-China studies, 

a void of careful examination of the failed negotiations with our neighbour

The Long game is a must-read for anyone interested in Indo-China relations. The wounds of the Galwan clash are still afresh among the Indians and the book release in 2021 increases its relevance. Furthermore, the lessons contained in this book can be used as an unofficial doctrine by the Indians for a long time to come, while dealing with the Chinese. The author has made many features of Indian policy towards China accessible to the common man and given insights into what still remains an opaque endeavour. Ambassador Gokhale is extremely lucid with his words and can sum up Beijing’s approach to diplomacy in pithy and memorable ways. Sample the following: “The Chinese want to be seen as the beautiful swan gliding on the placid surface of a lake in sylvan surroundings. Below the surface, their feet are churning away and roiling the waters for the other creatures … but this remains unseen.”

The book is a quintessential work of almost four decades of serving in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments in Hong Kong, Taipei and Beijing, between 1982 and 2017 gave him insights into Chinese negotiating behaviour which is proficiently reflected in his work. The question is not if it is a good read, the question is how many times should one read it. As Ashley Tellis succinctly puts it, the book is, ‘A disconcerting read, but indispensable’

Book Review - THE LONG GAME: HOW THE CHINESE NEGOTIATE WITH INDIA

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