So much of Washington's attention is concentrated on Taiwan that Americans sometimes forget China picks fights with nearly all of its other neighbors too. Beijing's claims to the South China Sea and various islands owned by our allies garner some attention, but the land grabs to China's south are less well known.
Beijing wants to seize significant amounts of Indian territory, including the entire northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, and clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along their 2,000-mile-long border are common. The Chinese are putting more pressure on India, and the United States should help New Delhi defend its sovereignty.
The Indo-China dispute seemed to have calmed down after Xi Jinping visited India's capital last month. The two countries finally restored direct flights, which India had suspended after China killed 20 Indian soldiers during a 2020 standoff in the Galwan Valley. But the head of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police recently acknowledged, "in the past few days, a situation arose where [a] face-off happened at several locations in Arunachal and it still continues."
China's encroachment is difficult for India to counter. It is much easier for China to surge troops and equipment from the Tibetan Plateau than it is for India to move up into the Himalayas. Beijing seized the disputed Aksai Chin region during its 1962 invasion, largely thanks to the logistical benefits of building a road nearby a few years before.
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