Something I realized about the world recently is unfortunately many of the important things in life have a very short window of opportunity. This is even more apparent at the high level. When you are in the 100m final at the Olympics, you have 10 seconds to make or break your entire existence. Everything in your life up to that point will be decided in basically a few seconds.
Now you can say but China isn't operating on 10 seconds. It has long term goals! Right. How long have the commies being in power? Less than 1 century. Given how long China has existed, thats not a very long time. When they say they want to be a fully developed country, they really only have 10 to 20 years at most to make the most of its growth phase which is where everything is decided. Thats not really a lot. If they fail to take advantage of it then its pretty much over since everything they do afterwards will not be enough to get it above the required threshold to be fully developed.
So India keeps saying I will do it later one day in the future. By the time you become actually serious about it, the window of opportunity may have already closed. So there is no tomorrow because you didn't pay attention to today!
Yeah, exactly my good man, could not agree even more than that with your sentiments.
That is why I keep bringing up the old stories.
It is all about positioning, then action the time to strike.
Then we let the chips fall where they may. Or we see how the hexagram evolves and develops itself, hehe.
Deng said we will teach Vietnam a lesson even if it cost Yunnan 25 years of development!
But, there is context there, because Deng and the CCP believed it probably was a possibility with better relations with the West.
So the tanks rolled. Then the Chinese forces voluntarily retreated.
Unsettled times, turned into stability over the decades, and the old foes, China, Vietnam and Russia, are all friends now.
That brief border, reset the entire trajectory of Asia more or less.
It stopped Soviet expansionism in its tracks, client states included. Laid the groundwork for future peace.
Guess what I am saying, is I agree with you, the time to act, best to be in the position to act.
And if the decision is correct, then we probably are on the right path.
That probably is India most difficult problem. They are not in the position to act. How Trump bullied Modi laid it bare.
In constant to the Chinese, who are always in a position to act. That we just call statecraft. Stuff we read from history books, because Confucius said go study to know the future, blah blah blah.
What is so ingrained and normal for Chinese, seems so alien when we read the BBC world report. LOL!