"If you have two enemies and no allies, make a friend of one of your enemies," a government source said, quoting Tamil poet Thiruvallavur, while speaking on India's foreign policy vis a vis Pakistan in light of New Delhi's tricky relationship with China.
As both India and China expand their spheres of influence and power, their peripheries are likely to overlap leading to some disagreements.
"We won't admit the inter-linkages in the relationship (with Beijing) but they will impinge on each other causing friction," the source said.
"However, all this needs to be seen in a broader international context because some nations -- Pakistan, for instance -- would be happy to see India and China at each other's throats as it will give it leverage with both the conflicting countries, more so with Beijing."
"But we don't want to fall in this game. We are a different India today than what we were 40 years ago, and we will define our own interests," he said.