Narayanan also wrote: “as the Special Representative for Border Talks with China (2005 to 2010), this sentiment was an ever-present reality during all border discussions. The document ‘Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India–China Boundary Question’ (2005), one of the very few documents relating to the China–India border, reflects this reality.”

Why is your columnist raising these issues from so many years in the past just now? Because, as the events of this month show, they are not only relevant, they are crucial in understanding why India finds itself in the position it is in today: confused and friendless.

Essentially, India’s actions under this government have been to undo the agreements of 1993 and later, giving China space and options to disregard them. And there does not seem to be much understanding about the sanctity and significance of treaties, formal and informal, that this government has signed India up for.

Views are personal. Read more of Aakar Patel’s writing here