Theaters of symmetry: India’s internal balancing challenges

We argue that India’s internal balancing strategies are based on striving for theatre level symmetries in order to push-back against Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). While the infrastructure development on both sides of the border has caused increasing troop confrontations, the Galwan clash mark a new juncture in Sino-Indian relations where Chinese intentions have become more hostile requiring India to intensify its defense modernization. India’s force deployment patterns and its decision to develop or acquire specific types of weapons platforms for its armed forces indicates an approach that prioritizes balancing China at the theatre level rather than against Chinese power in general. While similar ideas of balancing prevailed earlier, the Galwan crisis has lent more clarity and form to this approach.