An increasingly belligerent China is reshaping the neighbourhood and its own future

The communist nation is increasingly falling out with its neighbours, who will keep a wary eye on events in Beijing during 2021, reports Mayank Aggarwal in Delhi

File image: Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked his party to stay alert to national security risks   (REUTERS)

The year 2020 will be best remembered by people in most countries for the struggle to contain a deadly virus that originated in China.

But for several of China’s neighbours, the year has also seen a dramatic increase in fraught territorial conflicts with the communist nation.  

The flash of violence on the Himalayan border between China and India has been perhaps the most visible example of Beijing’s increased assertiveness, a huge and deadly military standoff that has seen the forces of the two nations stand eye to eye for more than 200 days now.