Contain yourself: India and America V China

America’s secretaries of state and defence, Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper, are in New Delhi today to meet their Indian counterparts for a second “2+2” meeting. The Americans come bearing gifts, mainly a geospatial information-sharing agreement. The Indians reciprocate with enthusiasm for a military alliance that scarcely dare speak its name. Unofficially, it is the Quad: America, Australia, India and Japan. Last week India invited Australia to join its annual Malabar naval exercise. Mr Pompeo met India’s foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, in Tokyo earlier this month. These four “Indo-Pacific” powers may sing from the same hymn sheet about liberal democracy, but what binds them is their common rival. India has not fretted this much about China since 1962, when it lost a war over a disputed bit of the Himalayas. This year Chinese troops have been nibbling back territory India held on to back then.

secretaries of state and defence：国务卿和国防部长
counterpart：职务（或作用）相当的人
geospatial：地理空间
reciprocate：回报，回应
scarcely：几乎不
Quad: 四边机制（包括美国，澳大利亚，日本，印度）
naval excise：海军演习
hymn：赞美诗，圣歌(尤指基督徒唱的颂扬上帝的歌);歌颂某事物的电影(或书等)
liberal：宽宏大度的
democracy：民主政治
bind: 捆绑，缠绕，联合在一起
fret：发愁，使烦恼，焦急
dispute：争论，辩论
nibble：啃咬