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As%20the%20icy%20winds%20hit%20the%20battlegrounds%20in%20Ladakh%2C%20the%20Hans%20dominated%20Chinese%20feel%20the%20heat%20of%20Super%20High%20Altitude%20warfare.%20Having%20been%20humbled%20in%20their%20misadventure%20in%20Ladakh%20by%20the%20resolute%20and%20courageous%20Indian%20response%20in%20summers%2C%26nbsp%3B%20they%20face%20the%20other%20equally%20unforgiving%20and%20underestimated%20foe%u2026%u2026%20%u2018The%20Winter%u2019.%20%3Cstrong%3EAn%20honourable%20exit%20from%20a%20dishonourable%20Himalayan%20disposition%20under%20the%20global%20glare%20is%20crumbling%20their%20centennial%20goal%20and%20haunting%20the%20Chinese%20dream%20with%20a%20Himalayan%20nightmare.%3C/strong%3E%20Thus%20for%20a%20country%20held%20hostage%20by%20a%20venomous%20ideology%2C%20coercive%20diplomacy%20and%20a%20Xitlerist%20political%20dispensation%2C%20building%20a%20narrative%20foundational%20on%20lies%20seems%20oxygen%20for%20its%20chocked%20global%20and%20domestic%20image.%20%3Ci%3E%3Cstrong%3EDriven%20to%20the%20back%20and%20its%20teeth%20blunted%2C%20the%20only%20option%20thus%20remains%20is%20to%20gain%20psychological%20ascendancy%20and%20seek%20an%20honourable%20winter%20exit.%3C/strong%3E%3C/i%3E

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%3Cstrong%3ELessons%20from%20Ladakh%3C/strong%3E

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Strategically%2C%20as%20security%20partnerships%20evolve%20centred%20around%20Chinese%20belligerence%2C%20prudence%20will%20lie%20in%20age-old%20realpolitik%20%u201CThere%20are%20no%20permanent%20enemies%2C%20and%20no%20permanent%20friends%2C%20only%20permanent%20interests%u201D.%20Balancing%20foreign%20policy%20linkages%20and%20security%20partnerships%20must%20not%20create%20dependencies%20or%20polarities%20which%20impinge%20upon%20strategic%20autonomy%20but%20must%20be%20based%20on%20long%20term%20vision%20and%20furtherance%20of%20national%20interest.%20Equally%20important%20is%20as%20India%u2019s%20influence%20and%20reach%20extends%20globally%2C%20the%20immediate%20neighbourhood%20must%20not%20be%20in%20the%20defilade%20zone%20nor%20must%20the%20time%20tested%20all-weather%20relationships%20be%20overlooked.%20Balancing%20multilateral%20and%20bilateral%20relationships%20could%20act%20as%20additional%20pressure%20points%20to%20deter%20the%20Chinese%20belligerence%20but%20finally%2C%20it%20will%20be%20the%20nation%u2019s%20fight.%20%3Ci%3E%3Cstrong%3EStrategic%20flexibility%20and%20strategic%20stability%20thus%20need%20a%20fine%20balance%20with%20a%20visionary%20strategic%20security%20calculus.%3C/strong%3E%3C/i%3E

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Politically%20and%20diplomatically%2C%20the%20leadership%20must%20stand%20firm%20against%20any%20Chinese%20ruse.%20China%20must%20be%20denied%20both%20physical%20and%20psychological%20ascendancy.%20%3Ci%3E%3Cstrong%3EThe%20Chinese%20ploy%20of%20selective%20status%20quo%20on%20heights%3C/strong%3E%3C/i%3E%20%3Ci%3E%3Cstrong%3Enorth%20and%20south%20of%20Pangong%20Tso%2C%20while%20maintaining%20dumb%20silence%20over%20the%20Depsang%20plains%20and%20Y%20junction%20is%20disconcerting.%20Similarly%20suggesting%20buffer%20zones%20within%20Indian%20perception%20of%20LAC%20must%20be%20rubbished.%3C/strong%3E%3C/i%3E%20Having%20gained%20a%20strategic%20advantage%20over%20the%20Kailash%20range%2C%20India%20must%20use%20it%20for%20the%20furtherance%20of%20its%20foreign%20policy%20goals.%20Even%20reversion%20to%20pre%20-%20Apr%2020%20positions%20must%20be%20caveated%20with%20an%20institutionalized%20and%20time-sensitive%20road%20map%20for%20resolution%20of%20LAC%20dispute%20backed%20by%20real-time%20monitoring%20mechanisms.%20Militarily%2C%20the%20impasse%20may%20seem%20stalemated%20but%20strategically%20China%20has%20been%20embarrassed%20by%20denying%20it%20the%20notion%20of%20victory.%20This%20hurts%20when%20its%20global%20image%20is%20already%20taking%20a%20beating.%20China%20thus%20seeks%20face-saving%20de-escalation%20and%20disengagement%20albeit%20on%20its%20terms.%20This%20must%20be%20denied%20politically%20and%20must%20be%20seen%20holistically%20with%20a%20long%20term%20vision%20aimed%20at%20the%20finalisation%20of%20LAC%20alignment.

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