# Vijay Gokhale book on China’s wars called incomplete 2026-08-15T22:51:53+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Deccan Herald reviews Vijay Gokhale's new book 'China's Wars: The Politics and Diplomacy Behind its Military Coercion', which examines five conflicts: the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, the 1962 India-China border war, the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict, the China-Vietnam war, and grey-zone tactics against Taiwan and the Philippines. The review says the book fails its stated aim of offering insights for India's future, concluding that large-scale conflict with India is less likely but cannot be ruled out, calling China an "opportunistic power." The review criticises the analysis as largely retrospective, noting China's last major war was in 1979 and that the book's conclusions can seem predetermined and subjective. It also says the assumption that China's goals remain unchanged over 70 years is questionable, though the author notes India itself has changed since 1962. Despite these shortcomings, Deccan Herald says the book remains an engaging and essential read for foreign-policy practitioners, scholars, and students, offering a detailed 360-degree assessment of factors behind China's wars including geopolitics, domestic politics, propaganda, and tactics. ## Coverage - deccanherald.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: 1962 war, China, India, Taiwan, Vijay Gokhale, Xi Jinping Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/vijay-gokhale-book-on-chinas-wars-called-incomplete/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/vijay-gokhale-book-on-chinas-wars-called-incomplete/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/