Coping with China and India

Here's the review I did for Sunday's Register Commentary section on Martin Sieff's new book, Shifting Superpowers, on the rise of China and India to the status of economic superpowers with the capacity to become at least increasingly important regional powers -- which they are now -- if not necessarily global powers. Martin reminds us that far from being Gandhi-style pacifistic, India has had and still has one of the world's more effective militaries. By going into history of the last 100 years ago, he demonstrates that the Bush administration's idea of cozying up to India as a counterbalance to China was a pipedream; India had been suspicious of/antagonistic to China earlier on, but it's now in a phase of getting along, even cooperation.

I remember sitting with Martin Sieff in a bar in Korea, drinking many scotches into the wee hours and trading stories. We were at the same conference. Of course he had more stories to tell than I, having lived a more adventurous life, and he was only too happy to tell them; he's a delightful raconteur. He also wrote a darn good book.