The comparison between the China's relationship with India's neighbours in South Asia and India's ties with China's neighbours in the South China Sea is widely regarded as strategic competition between the two, an article in the Global Times said today.
It is true that judging from a realist perspective in international relations, China and India are likely to undergo relatively long-term strategic competition, the paper said.
"However, it should be stressed that China and India are not in the same geopolitical region. Neither country is able to exert as much strategic influence as that of the other's neighbours", it said.
For Beijing, Japan's geopolitical strategic competition with China will be more important than India's and the idea also holds true for Indian geopolitical strategy, it said.
"India's close relations with the Philippines and Vietnam might have a bearing on China. But India's influence can only play a supporting role under the Asia-Pacific strategic framework led by the US and Japan.
"New Delhi is not able to surpass Washington and Tokyo to play a leading role in Asia-Pacific strategy", it added.
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The role India may play in the issue of the South China Sea and other Asia-Pacific affairs is limited and this determines that strategic competition between China and India is not as tense and sensitive as some scholars describe, it said.
"China and India should learn a lesson from this history and find more creative ways to deal with their bilateral relations", it said.