HOUSTON – (June 17, 2020) – The most serious face-off between China and India on the world's longest unsettled land border in nearly half a century left dozens of soldiers dead Monday night.
"The resurgence of a decades-old border dispute between India and China, and especially an escalation to violent conflict with casualties, threatens to destabilize regional order unless leaders from both countries act quickly to negotiate a return to peaceful disagreement," said Steven Lewis, the C.V. Starr Transnational China Fellow at the Baker Institute. He is available to discuss the developments with the news media.
"Nationalism is a major force in both Indian politics and Chinese politics, and unless leaders from both countries work quickly to de-escalate tensions there could be large popular protests that could force the two governments and militaries to be more belligerent, not less," Lewis said.
To schedule an interview with Lewis or for more information, contact Jeff Falk, director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.
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Lewis bio: www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/steven-w-lewis
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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks as the No. 2 university-affiliated think tank in the world and the No. 1 energy think tank in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blog.bakerinstitute.org.