In high school there always use to be bullys. These bullys always use to pick on kids that would mind their own business or sometimes tried to pick on kids that were a threat to them. Such is the story of China and India. Realize that the bully here is China. China has a mighty army and in the recent years it has spent almost three times as much as India on developing and advancing their defense systems.
The northern border tensions between the two county had recently raised eyebrows of leaders all over the world. Time magazine reports that "Tensions along the Himalayan frontier with China have spiked noticeably since a round of Sino-Indian talks over long-standing territorial disputes this summer ended in failure. In their wake, the frenetic Indian press have chronicled reports of nighttime boundary incursions and troop buildups, even while officials in both governments have downplayed such confrontations. Elements in the Indian media point almost daily to various signs of a Beijing plot to contain its neighbor's rise, a conviction aided by recent hawkish editorials from China's state-run outlets. This week, leading Indian news networks loudly cataloged Chinese transgressions under headlines like "Red Peril" and "Enter the Dragon.""
The history between China and India is not that rosy and there have been rifts in this relationship as well. The two countries fought a war in 1962 where the well-trained and well-armed troops of the Chinese People's Liberation Army overpowered the ill-equipped Indian troops, who had not been properly acclimatized to fighting at high altitudes. Since then the two countries have overcome their tensions a little bit to become major trading partners. China is India's biggest trading partner.
But it looks like the Chinese still live in the colonial world, where they refuse to acknowledge geographical boundaries and think that everything that is worth having can be taken by force. Starting with the north Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh (which China claims is in their territory), China has increased their takeovers in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is the thoroughfare for nearly half of all global seaborne trade, and the coastal states are home to over 60% of the world's oil and a third of its gas reserves.
As per Time magazine - "To safeguard its vast appetite for oil and other natural resources, particularly those drawn from Africa, China has embarked upon a "string of pearls" strategy, building ports and listening posts around the Indian Ocean rim. Beijing's projects span from the Malacca Straits to the Cape of Good Hope and many places in between, including countries that were once in India's sphere of influence. A massive deep-sea port being built by Chinese funds and labor at Hambantota, at the southern tip of Sri Lanka, has in particular riled Indian analysts. With a $1 billion facility also under construction in Gwadar, in Pakistan, China will eventually possess key naval choke points around the subcontinent that could disrupt Indian lines of communication and shipping. Reports of a tense standoff earlier this year between Indian and Chinese warships on anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden — though dismissed by both governments — did little to subdue the sense of distrust brewing between policymakers on both sides."
Much of the dispute comes from the fact that China has a difference in perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas. Both sides carry out patrolling activity in the India-China border areas. Transgressions of the LAC are taken up through diplomatic channels and at Border Personnel Meetings/Flag Meetings. India and China seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question through peaceful consultations. But lately China is following it's own agenda and feels it is the lone king in the Asian subcontinental jungle. It has been trespassing Indian territory on land and in the sea. It is also fueling India's nemesis Pakistan with advanced weapons. It would not be fair to even classify the actions of China as a guessable scenario. China can not see how India is progressing and wants to leave no room for another superpower (other than itself) emerging over the next 5-10 years.
Such hostile nature will only lead to China's downfall. China is loosing the war within its own boundaries and with increasing opposition to the way the country is run, it is advisable that the Chinese heed attention to conflicts within their own walls. Like any other colonial era countries/powers, China will face serious economic consequences if it continues it's aggression.
No comments:
Post a Comment