News + Media

 
Mountain range between India and China

Analysis + Opinion

July 2, 2020

India's Pangong pickle: New Delhi's options after its clash with China

Christopher Clary and Vipin NarangWar on the Rocks

India was surprised by the scale of China’s incursions and was initially caught unprepared. It now faces the difficult challenge of trying to restore the status quo.

Annie Gordon, left, Gabrielle Rene, center, and Jenny Clark, right, rally for protection from evictions Saturday, June 27, 2020, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston. Massachusetts' tenant eviction moratorium is slated to expire in mid-August. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

In the News

June 28, 2020

Report: Boston minority communities hit hardest by evictions

Michael CaseyAP News

Justin Steil quoted: “The results are very troubling,” said Justin Steil, an associate professor of law and urban planning at MIT who authored the report with MIT researcher David Robinson. “It suggest that above and beyond income, housing cost measures that race continues to play a significant role in evictions,” he said. “We see white supremacy and anti-blackness functioning in the housing markets as well as other areas of social life.”

Chinese soldiers patrol the border with India

Analysis + Opinion

June 26, 2020

China’s sovereignty obsession

M Taylor FravelForeign Affairs

Beijing and New Delhi are now attempting to de-escalate tensions, but they have sent reinforcements to the border and eye each other warily. The series of events that led to the clash seems to have begun with China’s move into a portion of the Galwan Valley, raising questions about Chinese motives. Provoking India could push New Delhi to pursue closer ties with Washington at a time when US-Chinese relations are on a downward spiral. 

A military parade in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing last year.Credit...Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

In the News

June 26, 2020

China’s military provokes its neighbors, but the message is for the United States

Steven Lee MyersThe New York Times

M Taylor Fravel quoted: “When China views it is being challenged in these other sovereignty disputes in this era, it will respond with a very tough line.  China never had the ability to assert itself in the maritime domain until really in the last 10 or 15 years,” Mr Fravel said, noting the steady buildup of China’s naval and air forces. He added, “That has enabled China to press its claims in the East and South China Sea more than before.”

Head shots of Suzanne Berger, Peter Krause, Yasheng Huang, Chap Lawson on globe map background

In the News

June 25, 2020

When culture clashes with Covid-19

MIT News Office

To what extent are different responses attributable to the “culture” of each country? And how much have widespread social norms affected the responses of different countries during the Covid-19 pandemic?

A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a road under construction near the Line of Actual Control, the border between India and China, June 22, 2020.  (Maxar Technologies via AP) A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a road under construction near the Line of Actual Control, the border between India and China, June 22, 2020. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

In the News

June 24, 2020

India reinforces contested region as China holds ground, sources say

French Press Agency (AFP)

Vipin Narang quoted: “There may be some short-term public backlash against China in India, but publicly, Pakistan swamps China as a perceived threat,” said Vipin Narang, a security specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  “The effects of this crisis, even if it slow burns, may be short-lived amongst India's public. And cheap TVs are still cheap TVs.”

illustration of the COVID-19 virus

Analysis + Opinion

June 23, 2020

Covid-19 news and activities

Here you can find a running list of Covid-19 news stories, features, and events that involve members of the CIS community.

screenshot of people talking on news program

In the News

June 23, 2020

India-China standoff: Prof M Taylor Fravel speaks on the false claim of Galwan by China

Rahul KanwalIndia Today

In this special broadcast of Newstrack, Rahul Kanwal exposes the cartographic aggression of China and speaks with Taylor Fravel on the matter. 

India and China have a similar number of soldiers along the border, a little over 200,000 each. (Photo Courtesy: www.indianarmy.nic)

In the News

June 22, 2020

India has closed military gap with China along border

Pramit Pal ChaudhuriHindustan Times

M Taylor Fravel quoted: “China has just over 10 percent of its ground forces [in its western theatre], a very large part of the country, and not even all these troops are focused on India.” But because China does not want to deploy a large fraction of its forces in Tibet or Xinjiang, he added, “I think this disparity in the local balance makes China especially sensitive to changes that improves India’s position.”

 Sandeep Kaur and her brother Prabhjot Singh lay flowers on the coffin of their father, Satnam Singh, who was killed in the fight in the Galwan Valley. Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images

In the News

June 21, 2020

Xi plays tough, but can China afford to make an enemy of India?

Emma Graham-HarrisonThe Guardian

M Taylor Fravel quoted: “I feel it’s generally a response to the pressure Xi feels he is under,” said Fravel. “Because of Covid and the criticism China faced internationally, the economic crisis at home, and the concomitant deterioration of China-US relations, [Beijing] has taken a tough stance on a number of sovereignty issues as a way of signalling that China will not be cowed.”

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