EVENTS

Abstract

Drawing upon new, rarely seen documents from China and recent work on Chinese global strategy, Dr. Jonathan D. T. Ward will examine the little-known depths of the China-India relationship. Beginning with new work on the Border War of 1962, and leading into current and future trends in the Indo-Pacific, this talk will address the role of China, India, and the United States in shaping a new geopolitical balance in what is now the world's most consequential region.  What, in China's view, really caused the collapse of China-India relations and road to war in 1962? Where does India fit into China's strategic calculus today as Beijing expands its economic and military power from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean Region? And, as the idea of the 'Indo-Pacific' gains importance in Washington D.C., how is the United States likely to respond to China's growing ambitions, and what will this mean for US-India relations? 

This talk will address these questions and more. Dr. Ward will also discuss new developments in the US-China relationship, and its implications for India, including implications of the new U.S. National Security Strategy and Xi Jinping's landmark speech at the 19th Party Congress.

About the Speaker

Jonathan D. T. Ward is the Founder of Atlas Organization, a Washington D.C. based consultancy focused on China, India, and the Indo-Pacific Region. He received his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford, where he specialized in China-India relations. Dr. Ward is a Research Associate at the University of Oxford's Changing Character of War Programme, and has recently been selected for the Next Generation National Security Leaders Program at the Center for a New American Security in Washington D.C. Dr. Ward studied Philosophy, Russian, and Chinese language at Columbia University as an undergraduate, and spent five years living and traveling extensively in Russia, China, India, Latin America, and the Middle East. He speaks Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, completing language training at Beijing University in China and St. Petersburg State University in Russia. He is working on a new book on Chinese global strategy, and preparing for publication of his doctoral work from Oxford on the rise and fall of China-India relations from 1950-62. Dr. Ward is a frequent invited speaker for government and industry audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia, on strategic issues pertaining to China, India, and the Indo-Pacific Region.