Srinagar: A recently-launched book titled Dragon On Our Doorstep: Managing China Through Military Power, reveals that “India would be at a disadvantage in a war with Pakistan” due to the reason “while Pakistan has built military power, India focused on building military force”.

“Let alone China, India cannot even win a war against Pakistan. And this has nothing to do with the possession of nuclear weapons – the roles of nuclear and conventional weapons are separate in the war planning of India, China and Pakistan,” an excerpt from the book published on Scroll.in says.

The book has been authored by Pravin Sawhney and Ghazala Wahab, two editors of a defence magazine Force. 

It says in the prologue, “In Dragon On Our Doorstep, Pravin Sawhney and Ghazala Wahab analyse the geopolitics of the region and the military strategies of the three Asian countries to tell us exactly why India is in this precarious position and how it can transform itself through deft strategy into a leading power.”

The book asks present defence minister Arun Jaitley and his successors to wonder as to “why the mere 6 lakh strong Pakistan Army is not deterred by the 13 lakh strong Indian Army … (and) unabashedly continues its proxy war against India.”

The book also says that geostrategically Pakistan is more important to other nations than India.

“Pakistan today is sought after by the United States, China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics and the littoral countries of South Asia. It has emerged as a critical geopolitical pivot on the Eurasian chessboard. India, on the other hand, remains an important but certainly not geostrategic player. While geostrategic players have the capacity, capability and national will to exercise influence beyond their borders to impact geopolitical affairs, geopolitical pivots are nations whose importance is directly proportional to the number of geostrategic players that seek them out,” says the book.

The book asks the Indian military establishment to understand the growing bonds between Pakistan and China.

“Since 1963, China has supported Pakistan with war-withal – conventional and nuclear – to keep India boxed in on the subcontinent. This has ensured that India’s foreign policy remains shackled by the two military lines with Pakistan and China. Understanding the dynamics of these military lines in peace and wartime is not a mere defence matter. It is critical to India’s relations with major powers and will help India think strategically through a top-down approach – something it has never done because of lack of understanding,” the book says.

The book urges India to manage China by first understanding Pakistan’s security policy and military power. The authors also state that “the path to India becoming a leading power is through Pakistan.”