मित्रमित्रमरेश्चापि मित्रमित्रेण वारयेत् ॥ कZ_०७.१३.४०च्द् ॥
mitramitram areś cāpi mitramitreṇa vārayet
Demikian juga, seseorang hendaklah mengekang sekutu musuh (dan jajaran yang berkaitan) melalui sekutu kepada sekutu itu.
Kautilya recommends operating through second-order relationships (friends-of-friends) to contain hostile coalitions without direct escalation.