"Silence from China should never be read as acceptance" — In this episode of OPEN Dialogues, former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale joins us for an in-depth conversation on his book China's Wars: The Politics and Diplomacy Behind Its Military Coercion. Drawing on his distinguished diplomatic career, including his tenure as India's Ambassador to China, Ambassador to Germany, and High Commissioner to Malaysia, Gokhale offers rare insight into how Beijing's ruling elite think about conflict, coercion, and control.
Gokhale unpacks why he believes the use of force is written into the DNA of the Chinese Communist Party, tracing this back to Mao's revolutionary doctrine and the Party's own rise to power. He explains how China's civilizational idea of a "just and virtuous ruler" was fused with a carefully cultivated narrative of victimhood from the so-called "century of humiliation," creating a powerful justification for coercive action against any country or individual seen as opposing the Party's wishes.