It’s been several weeks since Indian and Chinese troops confronted one another in a remote pass through the Himalayan peaks. Since then, hundreds of troops from both sides have been locked in a standoff a few dozen meters apart. In the meantime, nationalist rhetoric has been flying fast. The standoff has aggravated already tense relations and is considered the most intense crisis between the Asian powers in the last three decades. However, what is less clear are the geopolitical motives behind the standoff.