Hoping that India will retain its independence, a leading Chinese daily warned on Tuesday that New Delhi may irritate Beijing if it "joins the US alliance system".
"If India hastily joins the US alliance system, it may irritate China, Pakistan or even Russia, " the Global Times said in an editorial.
"It may not make India feel safer, but will bring strategic troubles to itself and make itself a centre of geopolitical rivalries in Asia, " it added.
The editorial came as India and the US on Monday signed a logistics agreement that will enable their military forces to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
The Times, which reflects the thinking in the Chinese leadership, said India had got attention from all the major powers such as the US, Japan, China and Russia due to its traditional non - alignment policy.
"Now is arguably a time when India has the most room for strategic manoeuvring. . .
"Therefore, India will not lean toward the US because it will not only hurt India's self - esteem, more importantly, India can gain more strategic benefits by striking a balance between China and the US. "
The Times, however, said the India - US pact "is undoubtedly a leap forward in military cooperation".
The daily said: "It is possible that the Modi administration is trying an unconventional way to lean toward the US with the logistics agreement.
"But how close the US - India relationship can be and what geopolitical values it can get remains a question. "
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