Why India Should be Concern About China's Growing Military

China intends to be a predominant military power in the region and will not hesitate to use its armed forces to protect its development interests. Image: Joe Chan / Reuters

Why China's Growing Military Should Concern India -- Anirudha Dutta, Forbes

India has several reasons to be wary of, and counter, China’s military build-up

China’s latest white paper on defence, a once-in-two-year exercise, was issued on April 16. It clearly underscores the importance of the People’s Liberation Army and its pivotal role in the economic development and growth of China. Its military rise is of concern for India, given its proximity to Pakistan, from where India has faced continuous threats of terrorism and military misadventures. The strategic relationship with Pakistan is evident from the number of joint exercises and training carried out in 2011-12 and economic investments.

The white paper emphasises China’s peaceful rise and its intent to “never seek hegemony... But we will surely counterattack if attacked”. China now sees itself as a world power that has arrived and it will likely intrude, even if it is not attacked, based on perceived threat or slight. The report says, “China’s security and development are closely connected with the peace and prosperity of the world as a whole.” This seems at times to be at odds with its sense of insecurity and the challenges that the report highlights in order to justify its massive military build-up.

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My Comment: The Chinese are making their intentions very clear .... and India is only now starting to pay attention.

Chinese Premier: India And China Must Resolve Border Row For 'World Peace'

India And China Bid To Resolve Border Row For 'World Peace' -- The Telegraph

India and China have agreed to speed efforts to settle their simmering border dispute after Li Keqiang, the Chinese premier, said "world peace" depends on it.

In his first foreign trip since taking power in March, Mr Li's visit to New Delhi reflects the growing strategic rivalry between the two main Asian powers but also their need for increased bi-lateral trade. His talks with Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh today focussed on how the two countries can prevent the former being an obstacle to the latter.

The visit came close to being cancelled earlier this month after Chinese troops pitched tents on what India regards as its territory in Ladakh on their Himalayan border and unfurled banners warning Indian troops "You have crossed the border, please go back."

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My Comment: China is involved in border disputes with all of it's neighbors .... I am not optimistic that the Chinese are going to give anything away in these talks .... if anything .... they will probably be asking for more.

India And China Face-Off In The Indian Ocean

Map locates the major Indian Ocean oil trade routes and newly developed ports built by China. ESRI / AP

After Fighting Over Mountains, India and China Lock Horns In The Indian Ocean -- Ishaan Tharoor, Time

In mid-April, a platoon of Chinese soldiers trooped some 20 km into territory considered India’s and pitched tents and unfurled banners. When detected by Indian forces, the Chinese refused to leave, triggering a tense three-week standoff between the two Asian giants that ended only after both sides backed down from their windswept Himalayan posts and returned to the pre-existing status quo. The incident was the most dramatic flare-up between India and China in recent years, the latest reminder of how things can hot up along a vast, snowbound border that has for decades remained in dispute.

Top officials in both New Delhi and Beijing tried to play down what happened. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid described the border tensions as “acne” on the otherwise “beautiful face” of Sino-Indian relations. On a recent trip to Beijing, Khurshid insisted both countries “were on the same page” and “don’t have prickly issues of significant difference” regarding the unsettled border. Ahead of newly installed Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s May 19 visit to India — his maiden foreign mission — the two countries have made conciliatory noises over resolving the thorny issue of the border, even though over a dozen rounds of talks have failed to achieve any real progress. In a measure to build trust, the two countries laid plans during the standoff to hold joint military exercises for the first time in five years.

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My Comment: This India - China rivalry in the Indian Ocean goes back years.

Has China Just Invaded India?

The Economist

China Invades India: Tensions Mount As Platoon Of Soldiers Slip Across Border To Claim Disputed Territory -- Daily Mail

* Chinese troops set up camp in Ladakh region in middle of April, it's claimed
* Slipped across the boundary into India in middle of night, India says

A two week Chinese incursion has left India on the verge of crises, it has today been reported.

India says Chinese troops set up a camp on its side of the ill-defined frontier in Ladakh region in the middle of April.

The platoon of Chinese soldiers slipped across the boundary into India in the middle of the night, according to Indian officials.

They were ferried across the bitterly cold moonscape in Chinese army vehicles, then got out to traverse a dry creek bed with a helicopter hovering overhead for protection.

They finally reached their destination and pitched a tent in the barren Depsang Valley in the Ladakh region, a symbolic claim of sovereignty deep inside Indian-held territory.

So stealthy was the operation that India did not discover the incursion until a day later, Indian officials said.

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More News On Border Tensions Between China And India

India, China remain at odds over alleged border incursion -- Washington Post
China won't budge from Indian territory; starts supply convoys -- Domain-B
Chinese army intensifies presence in Ladakh, gets regular supplies -- Hindustan Times
India-China standoff: Indian Army suggests increasing troops on LAC -- Kashmir Watch
Indian Army takes a step back in Ladakh -- Hindustan Times
Indian Army can cut Chinese Supply lines: Army Chief Bikram Singh -- Daily Bhashkar
Indian govt under pressure to escalate China standoff -- DAWN
Where China Meets India in a High-Altitude Desert, Push Comes to Shove -- New York Times
Chinese incursion violates 2005 pact -- Times of India
Chinese are not going to vacate Ladakh anytime soon, strategic experts feel -- Times of India
Old Tensions, Big Stakes in China-India Border Dispute -- Economic Observer
China’s Ladakh incursion is war minus the shooting -- Venky Vembu, First Post
Are China and India About to Fight Over Their Border? -- Jake Maxwell Watts, The Atlantic

China - India Border Tensions Continue

Chinese Troops Have Erected Tents 19km Inside Indian Territory: Govt -- Times Of India

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday told a parliamentary committee that Chinese troops have pitched tents 19km deep inside the Indian territory in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and that efforts are underway to ensure that the status quo is maintained.

Defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and some other senior officials informed the parliamentary standing committee on defence that India has deployed forces to "keep a close watch on the border", sources told .

Sharma and other officials appeared before the committee after BJP members Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Prakash Javadekar wanted to know the actual ground situation in Depsang sector of Ladakh where the Chinese incursion took place in Daulat Beg Oldie area a week ago.

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More News On China's And India's Border Tensions

China incursion: What exactly happened? -- Hindustan Times
India's defense minister says talks are on to end standoff with China over de facto border -- FOX News/AP
Parliament panel urged to seek details on incursion from Defence Ministry, Army -- The Hindu
China plays down border row with India -- Indian Express
China denies crossing LAC in Ladakh; promises to resolve stand-off amicably -- Times of India
Indian Foreign Minister to Visit China to Reduce Border Tensions -- Bloomberg Businessweek
India foreign minister Salman Khurshid to visit China -- BBC
India turns to diplomacy to counter China as reports of incursions in Ladakh continue -- Daily Mail
China's border games part of larger diplomatic strategy? -- Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Hindustan Times
China’s LAC push aims to make India sign pact? -- Times of India
Border row puts gains in Sino-Indian ties at risk -- Ben Doherty, Sydney Morning Herald

India - China Border Tensions Escalates With Chinese Incursion

India Asks China To Withdraw Border Troops -- Al Jazeera

Foreign ministry asks China to pull back troops who allegedly advanced into disputed territory claimed by India.

India has accused Chinese soldiers of launching an incursion far into Indian territory, the latest flare-up of tension between the two Asian giants over their de facto boundary in the Himalayas.

"Chinese troops entered 10km into Indian territory on April 15 and pitched tents in the Depsang valley in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir," an Indian official said on Tuesday.

Indian army commanders have met at least two times with their Chinese counterparts, but Chinese troops remain in Indian-claimed territory, said Tsering Angchuk, a civil administrator in Ladakh. "They have not vacated the position so far,'' he said.

India's foreign ministry said it had asked China to withdraw troops from the territory.

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More News On Growing India - China Border Tensions

India, China Hold Military Talks After New Delhi Alleges Chinese Incursion Into Indian Territory -- International Business Times
Indian, Chinese Armies Hold Meeting to Resolve Border Dispute -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Chinese incursion in Ladakh: India, China armies meet to resolve row -- First Post
India Optimistic Talks Will China Solve Border Dispute -- Voice of America
China denies Ladakh incursion, says media speculated -- Hindustan Times
China denies Ladakh incursion, accuses India of 'aggressive patrolling' -- NDTV
India asks China to pull back troops in Ladakh -- BBC
India Accuses China of Crossing De Facto Border -- ABC News/AP
India asks China to revert to status quo in Ladakh -- Times of India
China violated Indian airspace, flew its military choppers over Depsang in Ladakh: Sources -- IBN Live
Chinese incursion: India likely to send Army contingent to Daulat Beg Oldi sector -- Times of India

Arms Race Between China And India

Arms Race On The Roof Of The World -- The National/Reuters

TAWANG, INDIA // It has all the appearance of an arms race on the roof of the world.

Asia's two great powers are facing off here in the eastern Himalayan mountains. China has vastly improved roads and is building or extending airports on its side of the border in Tibet. It has placed nuclear-capable intermediate missiles in the area and deployed around 300,000 troops across the Tibetan plateau, according to a 2010 Pentagon report.

India is in the midst of a 10-year plan to scale up its side. In the state of Arunachal Pradesh, new infantry patrols started on the frontier in May, as part of a surge to add some 60,000 men to the 120,000 already in the region. It has stationed two Sukhoi 30 fighter squadrons and will deploy the Brahmos cruise missile.

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My Comment: China has border disputes with all of it's neighbors. But unlike countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, etc.. .... India has the people and the resources to be the long term strategic threat to China's ambitions of being Asia's superpower. I expect this arms race to continue, and tensions on their border to escalate.

A Review On The Tensions Between China And India

China And India Today: Diplomats Jostle, Militaries Prepare -- Mohan Malik, World Affairs

Just as the Indian subcontinental plate has a tendency to constantly rub and push against the Eurasian tectonic plate, causing friction and volatility in the entire Himalayan mountain range, India’s bilateral relationship with China is also a subtle, unseen, but ongoing and deeply felt collision, the affects of which have left a convoluted lineage. Tensions between the two powers have come to influence everything from their military and security decisionmaking to their economic and diplomatic maneuvering, with implications for wary neighbors and faraway allies alike. The relationship is complicated by layers of rivalry, mistrust, and occasional cooperation, not to mention actual geographical disputes.

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My Comment: An excellent review on the tensions between India and China.

China Is Winning The Arms Race Against India

In Himalayan Arms Race, China One-Ups India -- Aviation Week

It has all the appearance of an arms race on the roof of the world.

Asia’s two great powers are facing off here in the eastern Himalayan mountains. China has vastly improved roads and is building or extending airports on its side of the border in Tibet. It has placed nuclear-capable intermediate missiles in the area and deployed around 300,000 troops across the Tibetan plateau, according to a 2010 Pentagon report.

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My Comment: After what happened today .... it is not hard to understand why India is falling behind China.

Analtsis: The India-China Rivalry

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The India-China Rivalry -- Robert D. Kaplan, Stratfor

As the world moves into the second decade of the 21st century, a new power rivalry is taking shape between India and China, Asia's two behemoths in terms of territory, population and richness of civilization. India's recent successful launch of a long-range missile able to hit Beijing and Shanghai with nuclear weapons is the latest sign of this development.

This is a rivalry born completely of high-tech geopolitics, creating a core dichotomy between two powers whose own geographical expansion patterns throughout history have rarely overlapped or interacted with each other. Despite the limited war fought between the two countries on their Himalayan border 50 years ago, this competition has relatively little long-standing historical or ethnic animosity behind it.

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My Comment: A comprehensive analysis from Robert Kaplan. Read it all.

China Responds To India's Missile Test

China Says India Is A 'Partner, Not Rival' After Missile Launch -- CNN

Beijing (CNN) -- China downplayed India's successful missile launch this week, saying that the two sides are not rivals but cooperating partners.

"China and India are both emerging countries, we are not rivals but cooperation partners," said Liu Weimin, China's foreign ministry spokesman, on Thursday. "We believe the two countries should cherish the hard-won momentum of sound bilateral relations, promote bilateral friendship and cooperation and make active contributions to regional peace and stability."

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My Comment: If you believe this .... I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

Chinese Military Drill Near The Border Of India Sends A Clear Message

China 'Warns' India With Border Drill -- Economic Times

NEW DELHI\BEIJING: China is back to flexing its muscles close to the Indian border. The People's Liberation Army has conducted a major "live fire" exercise, testing its multi-role J-10 fighters armed with laser-guided and other bombs, in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Chinese official media on Thursday described the exercise as "the first operation of its kind" on the 3,500-metre high plateau, which saw the fighter jets being fuelled and loaded with bombs for ground attack missions during sub-zero temperatures.

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My Comment: China is flexing it's muscle .... directed at India and at Tibetans.

Analysis And Implication’s For India’s Security As China's Military Expands

China’s Defence Budget 2012: Implication’s For India’s Security – Analysis -- Dr Subhash Kapila, Eurasia Review

‘However, its less the size of China’s defense budget than its composition that alarms beyond its borders. China’s military spending privileges the navy, air force and strategic nuclear forces—instruments of advanced power projection—rather than traditional defensive capabilities. No Chinese leader has yet explained how these capabilities contribute to China’s peaceful rise”. — Daniel Twining, Washington, USA.

China’s Defence Budget 2012 announced in the first week of March 2012 significantly draws global and regional attention in that China has shot through its defence expenditure over the $ 100 billion mark, making China’s military expenditure at the global level, second only to that of the United States, even though there exists a wide differential between the two.

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My Comment: The Chinese have made it very clear that in the short term their goal is to be Asia's regional super power .... and in the long term .... to be a global super power. India is .... belatedly .... now recognizing this development.

Can China And India Find Peace Between Each Other?

Why China, India Clash -- Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, The Diplomat

India-China relations are often seen through the prism of their bilateral disputes. Indeed, the border dispute between the two is generally seen as the biggest hurdle to improving ties. But it could be argued that disagreements such as that over the border in Arunachal Pradesh are only a symptom of the larger problem that exists between these two Asian giants, namely the inevitable and increasing competition between two rising powers.

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My Comment: Everyone is talking about peaceful coexistence .... but on the ground .... Asian defense spending is accelerating with budgets that are now surpassing even the Europeans. To put it bluntly .... most countries do not trust China, and China .... well .... I sometimes wonder if they even come close to trusting anyone else.

India And China Now Feud Over the South China Sea

Is This How Wars Start? India and China Now Feud Over the South China Sea -- Time

Last week, one of the world's most intractable disputes got even stickier. News leaked that the international-arm of India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was in talks with the government of Vietnam over hydrocarbon exploration rights in the South China Sea. In most parts of the world this would seem a routine bi-lateral development between two countries driven by their dynamic economies. But the South China Sea, whose waters are claimed to varying degree by half a dozen countries and almost in full by China, is unlike any body of water in the world, and where an oil company may see opportunity, most others only see a swirling geo-political maelstrom.

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My Comment: Is this how wars start .... in some cases yes .... but in this case .... no. Both countries do not have the mindset right now to start a military confrontation .... but the result of such a dispute will probably result in a massive arms buildup, a buildup that in turn will destabilize and impact the entire Asian continent and invite the prospect of war at some future date.

India Naval Vessel Confronted By A Chinese Warship

China Confronts Indian Navy Vessel -- Financial Times

A Chinese warship confronted an Indian navy vessel shortly after it left Vietnamese waters in late July in the first such reported encounter between the two countries’ navies in the South China Sea.



The unidentified Chinese warship demanded that India’s INS Airavat, an amphibious assault vessel, identify itself and explain its presence in international waters shortly after it completed a scheduled port call in Vietnam, five people familiar with the incident told the Financial Times.



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My Comment: India has made it clear recently that they are now focusing their naval assets to the east of Asia .... I guess the Chinese are giving their own message to India that they do not like this policy shift.

Report: Chinese Troops Entered India In September, 2010

Report: Chinese Troops Cross Into Indian Territory -- Washington Post/AP

NEW DELHI -- Armed Chinese soldiers infiltrated Indian territory and threatened construction workers near a disputed border in September, Indian media reported Monday.

The Chinese incursion took place in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, the Press Trust of India said without citing a source for the information.

Chinese soldiers threatened an Indian contractor and his workers who were building a bus station near Demchok in India's Leh region along the so-called Line of Actual Control that divides India and China. Construction work has been halted since the incident, the report said.

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More News On China's Military Incursion Into India

India alleges incursion by Chinese troops -- AFP
Chinese troops intrude into Ladakh, halt govt project -- Times of India
Chinese intrusion stops dev work -- Hindustan Times
Chinese troops enter Indian territory again: Report -- NDTV
Indian Army chief plays down Chinese incursion -- Sify News
India and China differ on boundary: Army chief -- IBNLive

What Would Happen If India And China Could Get Along?

India-China Friendship Can Change World: Yeo -- Hindustan Times

If India and China cooperate and resolve bilateral disputes in a peaceful manner, Asia will be completely transformed and with it the rest of the world, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said on Monday. He was speaking at a seminar on Tagore's dream for good relations between India and China, organised by the Netaji Research Bureau in Kolkata.

Yeo noted that the re-emergence of India and China on the world stage has already changed the shape of global politics and economics.

Yeo said: "In China, Tagore's works have been the most translated after Shakespeare. The chill due to the Sino-Indian war is gradually thawing."

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My Comment: India - China reconciliation will happen on the same day that cats and dogs decide to live happily ever after with each other.

India Reinforces Its Border With China Ahead Of Disputed Boundary Talks

India To Deploy 36,000 Extra Troops On Chinese Border -- BBC

India has formed two new army divisions - comprising more than 36,000 men - to defend the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

The remote north-eastern state adjoins China which claims large parts of it.

The 56th Division will be based in the nearby state of Nagaland to guard the eastern flank of Arunachal Pradesh from Chinese attack through Burma.

The other new formation, the 71st Division, will be based in Assam to protect central Arunachal Pradesh.

There has been no response so far from China to the decision.

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Update: India boosts troop level near Tibet border -- UPI

My Comment: With boundary talks slated with China next week, this deployment is an ominous indication from India that these discussions will not be successful.

Say Hello To The World's New Realignment Of Super Powers

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (C), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Indian Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna pose for a group photo after the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of China, Russia and India in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 15, 2010. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

China, India, Russia Begin Trilateral Talks -- Times Of India

BEIJING: China was dealing with leaders from four Asian countries, including foreign minister S M Krishna, at the same time on Sunday. Beijing's multi-level and simultaneous engagement and efforts to enlarge its influence in Asia is bound to impact the India-China talks.

Krishna, Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi and their Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov began trilateral talks in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Sunday. Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping landed in Singapore on Sunday to talk with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. This was preceded by a meeting between the country's president Hu Jintao and Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan on Saturday.

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More News On The Russia - China - India Trilateral Talks

China, India, Russia vow to work together -- Breitbart/AFP
Chinese, Russian, Indian FMs discuss cooperation in int'l, regional affairs -- Xinhuanet
Russia, India, China won't cross U.S. on AfPak -- The Hindu
Russia, China, India summit calls for UN reforms -- Hindustan Times
China, India, Supports Russia to Join World Trade Organization -- Bloomberg Businessweek
India, China and Russia call for global efforts to promote world growth -- One India
Joint Communiqué of the Tenth Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation and the Republic of India -- The Hindu