TEN CRITICAL QUESTIONS ON CURRENT GEOPLOITICAL AND NATIONAL ISSUES – 167
8 September 2026
PRERNA FOR IAS
(ASSOCIATE OF SAMKALP)
TEN CRITICAL QUESTIONS ON CURRENT GEOPLOITICAL AND NATIONAL ISSUES – 167
1. Should India treat economic engagement with China separately from the unresolved border dispute?
Answer: India should engage economically with China, but complete separation of economics and security is neither possible nor desirable. Recent concerns about Chinese restrictions on rare-earth magnets, semiconductor technology, battery cells and power equipment show that trade itself can have strategic implications. India should therefore follow economic pragmatism with strategic caution. Where trade benefits both countries, engagement should continue. At the same time, India must diversify critical supply chains and develop domestic technological capability. The objective should not be economic disengagement from China, which would be costly, but reduction of excessive dependence that could become a vulnerability during political or military tensions.
2. How can India ensure that defence modernisation strengthens strategic autonomy rather than creating new foreign dependence?
Sign up free to read the full article
Free accounts include 5 articles every month across current affairs, state notes, subject notes and more — upgrade anytime for unlimited access.
Expert analysis on India-China economic ties, defence modernization, student housing crisis, preventive detention accountability, and BRICS role. Key strategic issues explained.
Keywords
China relationsdefence modernisationstrategic autonomypreventive detentionBRICSstudent housingborder disputesupply chain