The World Reporter: News Opinion and Analysis

Arm Race between China and India; Possible Area of Understanding and Cooperation Between the Two Giants

2012-05-06T13:00:00.000+05:30

Agni V, India's indigenous ICBM
Indian Ministry of Defense, via Associated Press

Interview with Gennady Yevstafiev, retired Lieutenant General of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

Interviewer: Yekaterina Kudashkina

Mr. Yevstafiev, thank you so much for joining us now. So, the way I’m looking at various reactions of the successful Agni-V Indian intercontinental…

The first test launch was basically successful. It is a great achievement of the Indian research technology and we have to admit that India has become one of the major missile countries in this world. And it was developed for a number of years. Initially the idea was to develop Agni-III into number IV and number V, but then number IV somehow has not been tested yet and now we have Agni-V. This is a formidable missile with the range of, some people say it is 5000 kilometers, but I’m afraid they are misleading the public opinion because there are people who believe that it has a potential of 8000 kilometers. And of course the range of throw is a classified information but nevertheless between 5000 and 8000, this makes it intercontinental strategic missile.

Approx. Range of Agni Series Missiles

The missile was coming under the Strategic Forces command. So, it is in a proper hands and it has been launched from a traditional place, there is a Wheeler Island where Defense Research and Development Organization of India has its sights. And it would take a number of test flights, not less than four or five, before a missile itself will become operational. Now it is a success but it is not yet operational and it will also take three or four years before they really develop what they say. They want to have at top of this missile MIRV system – Multiple Independently Targeted Vehicles with a number of, between two and ten, separately targeted nuclear bombs. And it will take some time, this technology is not yet ready.

And what we have of course it is a huge missile, it is almost 18 meters, and its diameter is 2 meters, it is really a robust and solid mechanism. It can carry about 1500 kilos of weight of load and it is enough to carry a vessel with a nuclear bomb or to have four or five MIRV bombs which could present a very serious difficulty for missile defense. And we have to give credit to Indians, they have mastered, which has taken more time in bigger countries like the United States and Russia, they right from the beginning have put the missile into a canister which is sealed and the missile could be kept for quite some time before it is being thrown out from a canister and after that it starts moving. Of course we know the Indians have serious successes in navigational systems, in GPS systems that’s why as far as guidance is concerned that’s quite a reliable thing because the standard of Indian electronics and space technology evokes respect.

So, having fired this missile Indians have stated by the firing test that they have joined the club of the great missile powers. Being the nuclear state they have declared that they have a very universal weapon for the future developments because of course they have their own threats perceptions and risks. And that’s why it has been done according to their view of developing situation. If you have a look on how far it can fly – it covers all China and it can come up to Europe. I wonder if these people in Europe, would they think about a threat from a third world country and what do they think about their missile defense system because it is much more developed than anything we have in Korea or in Iran for that matter.

Indian researcher Bahukutumbi Raman says that Agni-V is, like he put it, a Chinese centric missile. And he says that once it is put on operation, it can reach those parts of Eastern China on which its economic prosperity depends. Now, if that is really so? Are we going to see something like arms race between China and India?

The arms race between China and India is going on for the last 15-20 years. The range of Agni-V covers the whole of China, not only the areas on which the Chinese prosperity depends.

In terms of Indian perception of threats of course in the Indian General Headquarters, among the military China is the major threat and that’s why they have found now, say by 2015 they will have a reliable weapon to respond to Chinese threat. But on the other hand I think it will make the whole situation, as far as stability is concerned, more predictable and both sides, I would say, would be very cautious about playing with muscles.

But it is a certain warning to other countries around India, in the Indian Ocean and in other places that India has a potential and they have to deal with India very cautiously, they should not irritate India and it has Indian Ocean at her disposal because with this kind of missiles, they will have a number of them, they would control the whole area. And it happens, interestingly enough, it happens in times when Americans are trying to develop their assets and potential in Australia. And America is preparing for some sort of a showdown with China sooner or later. In this situation we have a new player, very important player who has got something to say.

And is the player going to take sides in that situation?

No, I don’t think India will take any sides in this because Indian policy is very mature. Indians know the border of their national interests and they won’t go a step over this border. They know the Chinese points of aim, so to say, which they should not step on. But in a long run I think it would play well in containing the United States.

Containing the United States?

Yes, in the long run, especially if China and India would agree among themselves and would really divide the spheres of interests, it could be a very serious reminder to the United States that they have to behave in this area because they are not the only one country which possesses this kind of formidable arsenal of weapons.

But interestingly enough India has close cooperation with the United States in nuclear matters. So, do you think that could be a leverage for the United States to apply some pressure to India?

No, I don’t think so. You know, the agreement with Bush Administration signed with India about scientific cooperation, but mainly in a nuclear field, in 2007 is of the particular interest to the United States because they know the Indians have a huge energy program which is based mostly on, due to rather poor energy resources, it is based mostly on the development of the nuclear industry. We benefit from this idea of Indians develop nuclear industry, Kudankulam which we are going to convert into something very spectacular.

But the Indian request is huge because Indians are planning within 20-25 years to build about 50 nuclear energy reactors and American industry which is not producing nuclear reactors now for the use in the United States, they have stopped producing them to the United States industry, they badly need some market for the advanced technologies in that. By the way, French are in the same boat, though of course French industry is of a much smaller size. That’s why the fight for Indian market in nuclear technology is basically a commercial fight for the share of Indian market. But the market is going to be so big that for the next 15 years there will be enough space for everybody to work on this market.

Mind you that Indians are very serious customers and they demand a lot of set benefits when they sign agreements and these set benefits would of course sponsor the Indian industry in developing their own technologies. And sooner or later they will produce more than 50% of what they need for themselves.

And now of course the final question based on your assessment. Just how good are the chances, the way you see, that eventually India and China might come to terms? Because now we’ve got more than half a century standing conflict between the two. And on the other hand there are so many forces which would be trying to prevent the two countries reaching any kind of agreement.

That’s true. And for example America very cautiously but they do have the share of really provoking the rift between the two countries, but very carefully. They don’t want to be caught red handed.

This is very difficult to predict but both countries are quite mature in their diplomacy and foreign policy. Both countries understand the level of their pretensions over the influence in this world and that’s why unless there is something very special, and very special in this case might be Pakistan which is an ally of China. But Indians are cautious with Pakistan, they don’t want to take upon themselves the burden of handling the affairs of this almost fail state and they really don’t mind the Chinese working there and having their share of influence in Pakistan.

But on the other hand there is no serious problem of fighting for resources up to now between China and India because China is trying to master the situation in the Pacific Ocean zone, and especially on those islands like Paracel or on other kinds of isles, and these are the priorities for the Chinese. They don’t show much their flag in the Indian Ocean. From time to time they come but just to show that there is the Chinese Fleet and so on. But they understand and they see that the Indian Ocean is the zone of influence of India, and they don’t provoke India for all kinds of responses.

The same thing with India, it is quite far from this Pacific Ocean area. It has a lot of things to do around the Indian Ocean and that’s why they are not a competitor for Chinese in the area. Whereas the United States, Japan, maybe even Indonesia, Vietnam, these countries are more anti-Chinese in a sense that they are afraid of Chinese, they don’t want to have the increased Chinese influence. And that brings me to some sort of a hope that understanding this Chinese and Indians, especially in times of possible Chinese-American tensions, they would keep quite good relationships among themselves.

Well, let’s hope so. Though there is the painful issue of Tibet.

Tibet of course is a point of disagreement but with the course, the way things develop, Indians will soon be deprived of their hope to have something in Tibet which would be more favourable to their heart then what is now. Chinese are moving there slowly but I would say resolutely and I don’t think Tibet is having some chance of independence.

And what about the new port which the Chinese are building in Pakistan?

Pakistan is a different thing. And Pakistan basically strategically is surviving on the strategic partner agreement with China. But times change. I believe that Pakistan in many respects is a fail state. And Indians do understand this and they don’t want to touch Pakistan in terms of military invasion.

But still, are the Chinese interested in getting the port and getting access into the Indian Ocean ultimately?

Not now. Time will come but now they have different priorities. I think they have a priority of China Sea oil resources and in the surrounding countries. In American opposition to this, they have the priority of Taiwan, deciding the future of Taiwan in some way which would be acceptable and they are very flexible on the way how to decide. So, for the next 15-29 China has enough to do in this area and if it is not going to provoke anybody on the other side of their borders, and they would prefer to have some sort of détente with India, this will work.

Mr. Yevstafiev thank you so much.

Yekaterina Kudashkina is the author and presenter at the Voice of Russia, Russia's first internationally broadcasted Radio. On air since 1929.

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Russian-Chinese Duo, South China Sea and US Worries

2012-05-06T09:00:00.000+05:30

Sergey Strokan

Written by Sergey Strokan

May Day celebrations, with their global anti-imperialist drive, coincided with the “big two” of the non-Western world – post-communist Russia and communist China – exercising in foreign policy pirouettes and military drills to boost their all-weather ties.

High-level contacts in Moscow and large-scale naval exercises in the Yellow Sea came as the riddle of Russian-Chinese cooperation and its implications for the world.

To start with, Chinese Deputy Premier Li Keqiang, who is to succeed Prime Minister Wen Jiabao next March, paid a long-awaited visit to Russia, meeting President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin amid upcoming power transition in Moscow and Beijing.

The would-be Chinese Premier, who will hold the top job in Beijing for the next 10 years, confessed that his second visit to Russia in 20 years served as a curtain-raiser, enabling him to see “a totally new face of Russia".

However, there was not much progress made on the crucial gas deal as both sides failed to agree on the price for Russian gas to be sold to China. The thorny gas issue made ambitious plans to build a pipeline from Russia’s Altai Region to the world's largest energy consumer still a dream.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from Moscow, tensions were mounting high in the Asia-Pacific region, where regional powers were conducting large-scale naval exercises amid a growing territorial dispute in the South China Sea and warnings over the risk of armed confrontation between China and its neighbors, backed by the US.

First, there were joined US-Philippine naval drills “Balikatan” or “Shoulder-to-Shoulder” in the South China Sea, which started April 17 and ended last Friday. Apart from that, there were also US-Vietnamese naval exchange activities off the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Chafee.

The Shoulder-to-Shoulder drills were followed by joined Russian-Chinese naval exercises in the Yellow Sea off China’s east coast. The six-day drills were held under the code name “Interaction 2012” and also ended last Friday. The exercises focused on joint air defense, anti-submarine tactics and search and rescue operation. While China and Russia have held four military exercises since 2005, including joint war games in 2005, these were their first joint naval exercises.

So as there were too many drills in the region, from the very start it evoked heated debate on whether it was just a routine military training or muscle-flexing with overlapping political messages to show “who’s who” in Asia, who is running the show in the Pacific.

On one hand, if we compare the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea drills, we will discover that these were very different naval exercises. Different in many ways: different by their geography, as there are several hundred kilometers from one sea to another, and different by their agenda.

Finally, the most important thing is that unlike China, Russia is not involved in the tense territorial dispute with South-East Asian countries which were conducting military exercises with US navy.

On the other hand, to quote The Washington Times, Russian-Chinese naval exercises “could also be seen as a response to United States’ new defense strategy, announced in January.” Just to remind our readers: the new US defense strategy unveiled by the White House early this year is making emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. What we witness today is the dramatic shift of President Obama’s foreign and defense policy priorities from Iraq and Afghanistan to Asia-Pacific.

It is an open secret that America’s number one rival in the region is China. To put it bluntly, President Obama’s new Asia-Pacific doctrine is the strategy of how to deter China. Ironically, it is through the prism of this rivalry and growing tension between the United States and China that some are trying to look at the Russian-Chinese partnership of which military-technical ties is one of the pillars.

Symbolically enough, US -Philippine naval drills, along with the US-Vietnamese naval exchange, though planned before, coincided with the aggravated territorial dispute between China and the Philippines. It all started early April some 120 miles (200km) from the Philippine coast in a quiet lagoon at Scarborough Shoal.

A Philippines navy surveillance plane spotted eight Chinese fishing vessels. The Philippines side said the Chinese had intruded into their waters. The Philippines’ largest warship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which was recently acquired from the United States, rushed to the place.

They wanted to arrest the Chinese fishermen, but two Chinese surveillance ships arrived at the sport and blocked the access to the fishing vessels. They were standing face to face – the Filipino and Chinese navies for several days and one single accidental shot could have triggered a military conflict.

It took enormous diplomatic efforts to withdraw the ships and avoid military confrontation. Meanwhile, the conflict is far from over. Both sides claim this is their indisputable territory. China even has its own name for Scarborough, calling it Huanyan Island.

To me the present stand-off was a manifestation of escalating US-Chinese rivalry in a strategically-located region incredibly rich in oil and gas. What added more tension to the situation is that under the framework of the drills American and Filipino troops stormed a South China Sea island in close proximity to Scarborough which could have turned into the scene of a real-life naval battle.

Not surprising that China’s official Liberation Army Daily warned that US-Philippine exercises in disputed waters “could boil over into outright conflict”. The Chinese paper put the blame for the escalating situation at the United States.

US-Chinese new standoff has put Russia in a delicate position. Some would probably like to interpret the current military drills in the Yellow Sea as a sign of Moscow’s unequivocal support of the Chinese stand on the territorial issue in the South China Sea. However, such interpretation is not credible at all. Russia was conducting naval drills with China bearing in mind its own security interests and considerations, nothing else. There were no second thoughts on America and the primary task was to improve the performance of the Russian Navy in the Pacific.

China is Russia’s undisputable close partner. But so are several ASEAN states, Vietnam among them, with which we are involved in multi-million-dollar projects of oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea. So, when today China is quietly trying to tell Russian companies to stay away from the disputed waters, my question is: why should we do this? Let us not mix business and politics.

All in all, we have to agree with the Chinese where we can agree, and disagree where we have different or conflicting interests, be it price for Russian gas or exploration of South China Sea.

This is the same pragmatic stand Moscow adopts in its relations with President Obama.

The author, Sergey Strokan is a journalist, essayist and a poet. He is also a political commentator with Russia's “Kommersant” Publishing House. Mr. Strokan hosts “Red Line”, a weekly analytical program broadcast by The Voice of Russia in New York City. . Republished following the legal disclaimer of Russia Today. Original Article appeared on Russia Today blog.

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The Strait of Malacca: The Meeting Point of Giants

2012-05-04T12:56:00.000+05:30

Strait of Malacca

Written by Andreea Cristina Brinza, Geopolitics.ro

The Strait of Malacca is a gateway between Asia and the West and one of the most important world energy valves, hosting about 40% of world trade.

While the Silk Route was, in the past, the glue connecting land route between Asia and Europe, the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea represent today the maritime communication route of East Asia with the energy markets of the states that form the so-called 'Energy Heartland'[1] of the world (the region between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf).

Linking Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, Malacca is the most important strait in the world, the place where 12 million barrels of oil flow daily, towards the most dynamic economies of the moment: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan.

Controlled by Americans under the pretext of stability in region, the Strait has become the convergence point of three major powers: USA, China and India.

If on world level China leads a policy antagonistic towards U.S., on a regional level the main rival of China is India. "For China, India is the Asian enemy par excellence," said Laurent Murawiec and he also explains why: "India is the demographic, geopolitical and political-intellectual counterpart of China" [2]. In other words, India is the mirror image of China, whose main strength is the "demographic pliers", that the Chinese fear it will break their economy in the future.

In the Malacca region, China is trying to restrict India from establishing itself as a hegemony in South Asia and to eliminate the U.S., or at least to change the power pole in its favor. The "String of pearls" which China is building on the coastline of the Indian Ocean - in Burmese, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, is only a strategy to limit India's and U.S.'s access in South-East Asia, in general, and in the Strait of Malacca, in particular, by controlling the naval nodes in these countries.

A new Great Game is thus on the geopolitical map, fueled by the control over the Malacca Strait - a key objective of the political strategy of the three countries in the region. Full access to the strait allows control over sea routes connecting East Asia to Eurasia and Africa, dominating the economic and commercial life of Asia. If the U.S. is the world's only superpower and China is an aspiring super-economy, India is just a regional power.

China faces a real dilemma on Malacca Strait - the maritime route that mediates approximately 80% of Chinese imports and which turned into the state's energy jugular. As China's economy is growing, requiring ever more natural resources, having only one transportation route which is controlled by other states, is a real Achilles heel of China. This is why the Chinese strategy relies on getting control over Malacca Strait and on developing, in parallel, many new terrestrial energy routes, to reduce China's vulnerability to accessing scarce resources.

India is also having an important economical development, aspiring to the hegemonic rule of the Asian region, and the control of the Malacca Strait would only strengthen its status in the region and help it develop trade links with countries in East Asia. Considering India is a true software center and that the states from the South China sea are the leading IT manufacturers, a good connection with the East Asian region would only bring benefits.

In this battle for the supremacy in the South Asian region, U.S. goes on the principle that whoever controls the Strait of Malacca has control over the most important energy routes in the world and hence over the Chinese economy - an economy that, in recent years, has eclipsed increasingly U.S.'s. America's strategy in the region is to control the Strait and to keep under control China's economic development. But as the U.S. is not a regional power in the area, it has developed partnerships with countries in the near vicinity of the Strait, while also supporting India in the fight with China.

The meeting of the three giants in South Asia brings into question Alfred T. Mahan's theory, which states that the twenty-first century will be decided in the Indian Ocean, going on the idea that "who controls the Indian Ocean will control Asia" [4]. Even if the U.S. seems a secondary player in the battle for the Strait of Malacca, its help is important and can decisively change the balance of power in the region.

The control over the shortest route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean brings, as mentioned above, face to face two aspiring powers to the hegemony status in Asia: China and India, who adopt different strategies of containment or mutual annihilation. If China uses the politics of the "string of pearls", India has used the "iron curtain" or the so-called "iron chain", policies that are based on the same idea: controlling as many ports surrounding Malacca Strait, to enable the restriction of its opponent. This control can only be done by attracting surrounding countries as partners, but it is this exact attraction that lead to a real investment race on the shores of the Indian Ocean, between China and India.

The strategies of the two countries also follow the principle of "the neighbor of my enemy, my friend". This policy has its roots in the teachings of Sun Tzu of surrounding your enemy through its neighboring countries. This is Vietnam's case, who is revolving around India and Pakistan, who is China's ally.

While China is building its "string of pearls" by massive investments in the key ports on the Indian Ocean coastline: Gwadar (Pakistan), Hambantota (Sri Lanka), Sittwe (Mzanmar), Chittagong (Bangladesh), India is building its "iron chain" by the control it exercises over the Andaman Islands, Seychelles and Nicobar Archipelago. India's efforts to maintain control over the Indian Ocean are supported in the background by Japan, Australia and the U.S., which form together with India the so-called "Square" [5].

Malacca Strait is a real energy artery of Asia, as well as one of the hottest and most disputed naval points, which mediates the meeting point of three major forces: China, India and USA.

_________________________________________________________________________________
References:
1. Khanna Parag (2008) – Lumea a doua, Iaşi, Editura Polirom;

2. Apud Laurent Murawiec în Dobrescu Paul (2008) – Geopolitica , ed a IIa, Editura Comunicare.ro, Bucureşti, p.231;

3. Iskander Rehman - China’s String of Pearls and India’s Enduring Tactical Advantage, Institute for defence studies and analyses, iunie 2010;

4. Aman Ullah – India and China competing for Malacca Strait in Burma, SouthAsiaSpeaks, iunie 2009;

5. Ranjit B. Rai - China’s string of pearls vs India’s iron curtain in the indian ocean, it is a C3IC issue, Frontier India, octombrie 2010;

Translated in English from Romanian language, Original Article appeared on our Partner Website Geopolitics.ro

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BRICS Summit 2012: A long Journey to cover; Overview, Outcomes and Expectations

2012-03-31T17:50:00.000+05:30

BRICS Summit 2012 Logo

Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met on Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 in Delhi for the fourth annual Summit. Earlier known as BRIC before the addition of South Africa, BRICS is the group of emerging economies around the world, who are exploring new ways of collaboration, collective economic growth and developing common ground on foreign policy.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

All five economies maintain a great potential to become a superpower, but most of them are dependent on western economies. Any ups and down in the western markets leave their impact on these markets.

Moscow, Russia

The summit stressed on linking economies, as in trading in local currencies as well as linking stock exchanges of the member countries. The leaders also stressed on setting up of an international bank on par with Asian Development Bank, IMF and World Bank. It would fund various development projects in member countries and other emerging economies and may act as a relief provider for first time buyer mortgages in case of real financial crisis and disaster. The goal of the bank will also include lending, in the long term, if there comes a global financial crises such as the Eurozone crisis and issuing convertible debt, which could be bought by the central banks of all the member nations. Hence it will be acting as a vessel for risk-sharing.

Mumbai, India

Shanghai, China

The idea of setting up such bank was put forward by India, which received a good response from the member countries as well as from the countries who were observing the event carefully. Analyst John Mashaka called India's move "long overdue", and said that setting up a bank was a means of "pulling out of the western-dominated World Bank and the International Monetary Fund." Assistant professor at the Institute of African Studies (China) Yuhua Xiao noted that setting up the bank showed signs of growing self-assertiveness and inter-dependence among developing economies. Dr. Alexandra A Arkhangelskaya noted that creating such a bank would effectively "shift the weight of economic power", and could also be very beneficial to non-BRICS nations.

Johannesburg, South Africa

The nations also signed an agreement to extend credit facilities in their local currencies, a step to reduce the role of dollar between them. As of now, if Russia wants to trade with India, Russia will convert Rubles to Dollars send it to India, and then India will convert Dollars to Rupees. Completely removing the intermediate step of converting to and from dollar is not so easy, but if removed, the trade between the two countries will become independent of what the value of dollar is, which is highly unstable.

Also the nations will be launching a benchmark equity index derivatives that would allow investor of one member country to bet on the performance of stock exchanges of other member countries without currency risk.

Accounted 50% of global economic growth in last decade, BRICS accounts for 26% of global landmass, 42% of the global population and 40% of global GDP.

Below is the tabulation of the countries and their economy in therms of GDP (PPP). The data is taken from CIA World Factbook GDP PPP data update of 2011. PPP is one of the scale to measure difference between two economies. Using a PPP basis is arguably more useful when comparing generalized differences in total economic output between countries because PPP takes into account the relative costs and the inflation rates of the countries, rather than using just exchange rates, which may distort the real differences in income. The table shows BRICS as a single entity is more powerful than European Union. The data for GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) has also been re based using the new International Comparison Program (ICP) price surveys and extrapolated to 2007. Final figures are estimates in billions of international dollars.

Rank	Country	GDP (PPP) $Billion	Year
—	BRICS	20,975	2011 est.
—	European Union	15,390	2011 est.
1	United States	15,040	2011 est.
2	China	11,300	2011 est.
3	India	4,463	2011 est.
4	Japan	4,389	2011 est.
5	Germany	3,085	2011 est.
6	Russia	2,373	2011 est.
7	Brazil	2,284	2011 est.
8	United Kingdom	2,250	2011 est.
9	France	2,214	2011 est.
10	Italy	1,826	2011 est.

Another method of measuring economy is GDP (nominal) based on official exchange rates. The list below includes mostly 2011 estimates from the CIA World Factbook. The table shows BRICS as the third largest economy after EU and US.

Rank	Country	GDP nominal $Billion	Year
—	European Union	17,720,000	2011 est.
1	United States	17,720,000	2011 est.
—	*BRICS*	13,766,000	2011 est.
2	China	6,988,000	2011 est.
3	Japan	5,866,000	2011 est.
4	Germany	3,739,000	2011 est.
5	France	2,919,000	2011 est.
6	Brazil	2,407,000	2011 est.
7	United Kingdom	2,370,000	2011 est.
8	Italy	2,135,000	2011 est.
9	Russia	1,995,000	2011 est.
10	India	1,954,000	2011 est.

The performance of the BRICS nations on the international platform has been brilliant, despite the fact all these countries come from different continents, having different government, political and economical structure. How far this concept of BRICS will sustain no body knows, but if it works then it will bring a great change in the current world, a change for good.

The countries have been working together to find some common ground and fortunately their thoughts match on the issues of West Asia, North Africa and Afghanistan. All five countries called for the international community to continue development projects in Afghanistan for 10 years after America led international forces will withdraw from the nation by the end of 2014.

BRICS nations together have strongly condemned the Western world’s politics on Iran to make other countries stick to the restrictions imposed by them on trade ties. China's Trade Minister Chen Deming said that the "rise [in the price] of crude oil has impacted all countries. The Iran issue has become an issue for all. We need to continue with normal relations with Iran, but, at the same time, we respect UN resolution. We hope that unilateral movement by one country will not affect other countries." The group warned against any military intervention in Syria by the West or by Israel in Iran. They added that a war with Iran would have "disastrous consequences."

Landmass of BRICS vs EU, Click to Enlarge

Out of five BRICS nations, three of them have remained or are super power. India before 14th century, Russia in the 20th century and China almost in 21st century. No matter these countries possess power and wealth, but they may not share good relations with each other. Brazil and South Africa being geographically isolated from these nations share good relations with all. The best example is China and India, both of them have faced each other in the war in 1965 and China is still occupying a large part of North India and claims some part of Indian territory in North East India. China was also about to open the front in Indo Pakistani war in 1971 but didn't do so, fearing Pro Indian Soviet Union might take action against them. Russia and China have also shared cold relations following the illegal migration of Chinese in Russia's far east and border dispute which was recently resolved.

Russia and India have been sharing good relations from the Soviet times. India also shares good relations with South Africa, one of the major reason being Mahatma Gandhi, whose work in South Africa promoted equality between blacks and whites. In South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi is equally respected as in India. Brazil has also been close to all the countries.

Leaving aside all these solid claims about BRICS, there are critics as well who discuss why BRICS might fail with some genuine facts. One of the reason is all these countries come from different continents, different social, economical and political systems and some of these countries do not share good relations as well as common ground.

One of the best example of this claim is that after the declaration of setting up of an International bank, these countries fear that China will be the most benefited country out of all and will enjoy the most.

However, just after the summit was over, India and China declared that they will keep their border issue aside for now and will take more steps to increase trade between the two neighbors. Indian government also expressed their interest in inviting Chinese investment in India's manufacturing sector. Both the countries have together declared this year as Indo Chinese year of friendship and cooperation.

After the summit, Brazil and India also took the opportunity of exploring their way of cooperation. The two countries signed six pacts in areas ranging from closer cooperation in science and biotechnology to cultural exchanges. Under a signature, Brazilian initiative Science Without Borders, the two sides inked a pact that envisages placement of Brazilian students and young researchers in India. It will be funded by Brazil.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, "We reviewed the leaders' Delhi declaration and believe that their efforts to engage in global multilateral institutions productively can only strengthen the international system. United States welcomed the efforts by the so-called BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- to support the recovery of the global economy as well as "

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Charity in China; Reforming China's Non-Profit Sector

2011-12-13T23:21:00.000+05:30

China Red Cross, Source: AsiaNews.it

Posted by Jessica Drun, AsiaEye

Recent scandals involving charity misspending and embezzlement have tarnished the image of China’s non-profit organizations (NPO). News of these controversies has spread like wildfire across Chinese micro-blogs and public philanthropy suffered a blow by alienating potential donors. For instance, China saw an immediate decline in blood donations following the Guo Mei Mei incident, in which the supposed general commercial manager of the Red Cross flaunted her lavish lifestyle on Weibo, a Chinese social networking site. The Red Cross in China now reportedly faces a 30-40% shortage. With Chinese people increasingly wary of corruption, monetary contributions to charities have reportedly more than halved from June to August of this year. The consequences of these trends are grave, as Chinese citizens across the board have called for government reform in the country’s nascent third sector—and Beijing is feeling some pressure to respond.

The economic reforms spearheaded by the late Chinese patriarch, Deng Xiaoping, are largely credited with unleashing market forces that spurred China’s rapid growth. The “opening up” policy contributed to a wide scale privatization campaign, leaving in its wake a debilitated social safety net. These trends, coupled with an upsurge of development-induced social problems, have opened space for Chinese NPOs to emerge at the forefront of the country’s public service sector. Under- resourced and overextended, China’s third sector has been a reoccurring topic in legislative debates in recent years—both in the front lines of grassroots initiatives and among many levels of government officials. The situation presents an interesting contradiction, wherein the Chinese government must face the need to address social problems while at the same time realizing that such a move could detract from its authority.

The landscape of the country’s third sector has changed significantly in recent years. This change is reflected in official government statistics that show the number of registered organizations has shot up over 40% between 2005 and 2010 alone. This increase does not include unregistered organizations, which are blocked from formal proceedings by China’s dual-registration system and strict guidelines. Comparatively, the non-profit landscape was practically barren under Mao’s rule and these types of organizations did not emerge until the 1980’s. This surge coincides with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) decision to defer social management responsibilities to NPOs as a means to promote Deng’s economic policies and encourage market forces. The initial non-profits were directly under government jurisdiction but as social problems emerged at a faster rate than the Party could manage, the central government began to defer control and reform the system.

Approaches to reform have been multifaceted. The central government, citing the importance of preserving social order, has sought to revise the current bylaws underlining non-profit management. The central government has overseen the establishment of experimental sites in Wenzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen to test the prospect of transferring more government functions to non-profit organizations. The National People’s Congress and the CCP Central Committee have dedicated a section of the country’s next Five Year Plan (FYP) to charity management, ostensibly to address rising public discontent towards corruption in NPOs.

In Chapter 39 of the 12th Five Year Plan, the central government called for the development of social organization through a streamlined application process, improved tax incentive laws, and policy support a la legal and regulatory protections. Before final approval in March 2011, the government disclosed the FYP guidelines to the Chinese people through a series of public hearings, seeking e-mail feedback and leaving room open for revision. Consequently, a Charity Law, drafted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA), which has been on the table since 2005, has resurfaced for consideration. In July 2011, the government reopened the draft as the “Guideline for the Development of Charity in China” and solicited public input to give direction to charity growth and expedite processes conducive to the 12th FYP. However, the draft has since seen little movement within the legislature.

Meanwhile, frustrated by government inaction, local and provincial governments have apparently taken matters into their hands. Respective authorities in Jiangsu, Ningbo, Hunan, Beijing, and just recently Guangdong have each enacted their own set of regulations, facilitating registration processes and allowing for more accountability in non-profit management. These moves have been commended by officials higher up in the government. In late 2010, a MoCA representative voiced his hopes that these developments will help guide those on a national scale.

The general consensus on the need for reform paints an interesting picture for future developments of the third sector. The timing of the FYP and its related reforms comes at a critical crossroad in China’s development. First, the 12th FYP coincides with a transition of power to its fifth-generation leadership that will take place in 2012. Chinese leaders seek a seamless power change, but they must address the growing challenges posed by increasing social unrest. By adhering to the tenets set by the FYP and by shaping public interests through the charity law, the Party could mitigate discontent among the masses, while at the same time demonstrate responsible leadership. Moreover, promoting China’s international image should provide further incentive for the government to amend its non-profit regulations by legitimizing the new leaders through social progress. It should be noted, however, that certain types of non-profits within the sector, such as those dedicated to religion and human rights, will see little change in their directive.

These advancements in the third sector may also point to the prospect of more comprehensive reform throughout the country. Grassroots movements empower and educate citizens for involvement in the public sphere, which then calls for a more active and informed society, with its own functions and claims. Larger citizen involvement, enabled by a burgeoning nonprofit sector, could lead to a further decentralization of power. This would be in line with the CCP’s “big society, small government” policy that seeks to create a network of social protections wherein citizens serve as intermediaries between the government and social organizations to sustain and promote a “harmonious society”. In essence, nonprofit reform may equip the citizenry with the capacity to take on the Chinese government’s social functions and become that “big society.” The deciding factor, however, is largely dependent on the direction the central government takes from its current Catch-22: toward third sector reform at the cost of its relative power or the continuation of the status quo at the risk of social instability.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below. Published with the written permission from AsiaEye (Project 2049 Institute).

1971 India Pakistan War: Role of Russia, China, America and Britain

2011-10-30T12:37:00.007+05:30

Indian Newspaper Clip

It was in the year 1971 when the two South Asian rivals declared war on each other, causing a great loss to the lives, property and territory in case of Pakistan.

"As the topic sounds controversial, before we begin we would like to tell that every information in this article is sourced. The article was written after a detail analysis of various sources. All the relevant and immediate sources are listed at the end of the Article."

Background

Before 1971, Bangladesh used to be a part of Pakistan as East Pakistan. According to Najam Sethi, a well respected and honoured journalist from Pakistan, East Pakistan always complained that they received less development funds and less attention from the West Pakistan (Punjabi) dominating government. Bengalis in East Pakistan also resisted the adoption of Urdu as the state language. The revenue from export, whether it was from the Cotton of West Pakistan or Jute of East Pakistan, was handled mainly by West Pakistan. Lastly, in an election conducted just some months before the war, the victory was gained by the East Pakistani leader and still he was not given the power, thus fueling the movement in East Pakistan.

Pakistani army started its operation in East Pakistan to contain the movement and anger among the Bengalis. It is reported that the army was involved in mass killing of public and mass rape of women. India was aware of this and was only waiting for a trigger to start the war. India started receiving huge number of refugees which became unmanageable, pushing it to intervene in the situation.

In May, Indira Gandhi wrote to Nixon about the 'carnage in East Bengal' and the flood of refugees, burdening India. After L K Jha (then the Indian ambassador to US) had warned Kissinger that India might have to send back some of the refugees as guerrillas, Nixon commented, 'By God, we will cut off economic aid [to India].'

A few days later, when the US president said 'the goddamn Indians' were preparing for another war, Kissinger retorted 'they are the most aggressive goddamn people around.'

US and China Connection, A Little Known Fact

(All Excerpts and Sources from 929 page long Volume XI of the Foreign Relations of the United States)

US sympathized with Pakistan, because of various reasons. Among them two reasons were that: firstly, Pakistan belonged to American led military Pact, CENTO and SEATO; secondly, US believed any victory of India will be considered as the expansion of Soviet influence in the parts gained by India with the victory, as it was believed to be a pro Soviet nation, even though they were non aligned.

In a telegram sent to US Secretary of State Will Roger, on March 28, 1971, the staff of the US consulate in Dhaka complained, 'Our government has failed to denounce the suppression of democracy. Our government has failed to denounce atrocities. Our government has failed to take forceful measures to protect its citizens while at the same time bending over backwards to placate the West Pakistan dominated government... We, as professional public servants express our dissent with current policy and fervently hope that our true and lasting interests here can be defined and our policies redirected in order to salvage our nation's position as a moral leader of the free world.'

This brought China in the picture. US needed help from China and the messenger was Pakistan. US approached China very secretly on this issue, who was more than welcoming as itbelieved that their relations with US could improve from this onward.

During the second week of July, 1971, Kissinger arrived in Beijing, where he heard the words by then Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai: "In our opinion, if India continues on its present course in disregard of world opinion, it will continue to go on recklessly. We, however, support the stand of Pakistan. This is known to the world. If they [the Indians] are bent on provoking such a situation, then we cannot sit idly by.' On this, Kissinger responded that China should know that the US also backs Pakistan on this issue.

Indira Gandhi, the Indian prime minister in those times decided to tour most of the Western capitals to prove Indian stand and gain support and sympathy for the Bengalis of East Pakistan. On November 4th and 5th she met Nixon in Washington. Nixon straight forwardly told her that a new war in the subcontinent was out of the question.

The next day, Nixon and Kissinger assessed the situation. Kissinger told Nixon: 'The Indians are bastards anyway. They are plotting a war.'

The pressure increased in East Pakistan, which attracted Indian attention. Indians were preparing for war and were concentrated on the Eastern front. To divert the pressure, on December 3, in the dark of night, even before India could attack East Pakistan, Pakistan opened western front and air raided six Indian Airfields in Kashmir and Punjab.

The CIA reported to the US President that Indian Prime Minister believes that the Chinese will never intervene militarily in North India, and thus, any action from China would be a surprise for India and Indian military might collapse in tensed situation caused by fighting in three different fronts (East, North and West).

Hearing this, on December 9, Nixon decided to send the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal to threaten India. The plan was to Surround India from all four sides and force them to retreat and leave East Pakistan.

On December 10, Nixon instructed Kissinger to ask the Chinese to move some troops toward the Indian frontier. 'Threaten to move forces or move them, Henry, that's what they must do now.' China feared any action on India might attract Soviet aggression. At this, US assured China that any action taken by Soviet Union will be countered by US to protect China.

Pakistani army had somehow maintained their position and resisted Indian advancement. They believed China is preparing to open the Northern front which will slow down or completely stop the Indian advancement. In fact, the myth of Chinese activity was also communicated to Pakistan's army to boost their moral, to keep their will to fight and hope alive. Lieutenant General A A K Niazi, the Pakistani army commander in Dhaka, was informed: "NEFA front has been activated by Chinese, although the Indians, for obvious reasons, have not announced it." But Beijing never did.

In Washington, Nixon analysed the situation thus: 'If the Russians get away with facing down the Chinese and the Indians get away with licking the Pakistanis...we may be looking down the gun barrel.' Nixon was not sure about China. Did they really intend to start a military action against India?

Soviet Union / Russian Role in the Indo Pakistan 1971 War.

As India had decided to go on with the war, and Indira Gandhi had failed to gain American support and sympathy for the Bengalis who were being tortured in East Pakistan, she finally took a hard move and on August 9, signed a treaty of peace, friendship and cooperation with Soviet Union.

The State Department historian says, 'in the perspective of Washington, the crisis ratcheted up a dangerous notch, India and the Soviet Union have signed a treaty of peace, friendship and cooperation.' It was a shock to America as this was what they feared, expansion of Soviet influence in South Asia. They feared that involvement of Soviet Union could sabotage their plan.

On December 4, just one day after Pakistan raided Indian airfields in Kashmir and Punjab declaring war on India, America's proxy involvement in the war was becoming clear. Thinking that the Soviet Union might enter the war if they come to know this, which could cause a lot of destruction to Pakistan and American equipment given to Pakistan, US ambassador to the United Nations George H W Bush [later 41st president of the United States and father of George Bush] introduced a resolution in the UN Security Council, calling for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of armed forces by India and Pakistan. Believing India can win the war and Indira Gandhi being determined to protect the interest of Bengalis, Soviet Union vetoed out the resolution, thus letting India fight for the cause. Nixon and Kissinger pressurized Soviets to a very extent but luck did not support them.

Video Translated by : Ella Salomatina, The World Reporter.

On 3rd December, 1971, the World was shaken by another war between India and Pakistan. Pakistani airforce raided Indian cities and airstrips. The Indian PM, Indira Gandhi, brought the country in the state of emergency and ordered Indian army to reflect the aggression. Fierce military operations developed on the ground, in the air and in the sea.

Historic document: "Confidential. December, 10, 1971. Moscow. For the DM Marshal Andrey Grechko.

According to the information from our ambassador in Delhi, in the very first day of the conflict the Indian destroyer 'Rajput' had sunk a Pakistani submarine with deep bombing. On December, 4 and 9, the speed boats of India had destroyed and damaged 10 Pakistani battle ships and vessels by Soviet anti ship P-15 missiles. In addition 12 Pakistani oil storage were burned in flame."

Confidential - The Commander of the Military Intelligence Service Gen. Pyotr Ivashutin.

"The Soviet Intelligence has reported that the English operative connection has come nearer to territorial India, water led by an aircraft carrier “Eagle” [On December 10]. For helping friendly India, Soviet government has directed a group of ships under the command of contr-admiral V. Kruglyakov."

Vladimir Kruglyakov, the former (1970-1975) Commander of the 10th Operative Battle Group (Pacific Fleet) remembers:

"I was ordered by the Chief Commander to track the British Navy's advancement, I positioned our battleships in the Bay of Bengal and watched for the British carrier "Eagle".

But Soviet Union didn't have enough force to resist if they encountered the British Carrier. Therefore, to support the existing Soviet fleet in the Bay of Bengal, Soviet cruisers, destroyers and nuclear submarines, equipped with anti ship missiles, were sent from Vladivostok.

In reaction English Navy retreated and went South to Madagascar.

Soon the news of American carrier Enterprise and USS Tripoli's advancement towards Indian water came.

V. Kruglyakov “ I had obtained the order from the commander-in-chief not to allow the advancement of the American fleet to the military bases of India”

"We encircled them and aimed the missiles at the 'Enterprise'. We had blocked their way and didn't allow them to head anywhere, neither to Karachi, nor to Chittagong or Dhaka".

The Soviet ships had small range rockets (only upto 300 KM). Therefore, to hold the opponent under the range, commanders ran risks of going as near to the enemy as possible.

"The Chief Commander had ordered me to lift the submarines and bring them to the surface so that it can be pictured by the American spy satellites or can be seen by the American Navy!' It was done to demonstrate, that we had all the needed things in Indian Ocean, including the nuclear submarines. I had lifted them, and they recognized it. Then, we intercepted the American communication. The commander of the Carrier Battle Group was then the counter-admiral Dimon Gordon. He sent the report to the 7th American Fleet Commander: 'Sir, we are too late. There are Russian nuclear submarines here, and a big collection of battleships'.

Americans returned and couldn't do anything. Soviet Union had also threatened China that, if they ever opened a front against India on its border, they will receive a tough response from North.

The war ended with the surrender of Pakistani army as they missed American help due to quick Russians who blocked both America and China from preventing India to advance. With this, a new country named Bangladesh was formed, which was recognized by the whole world and by Pakistan next year on Shimla Agreement.

Sources:
1971 War: How the US tried to corner India

Volume XI of the Foreign Relations of the United States by US State Department

December 1971: Indo-Pakistani conflict at sea - IV

"New Twist In "Crush India" Propaganda Campaign"

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Chinese and US Electronic Hacking and Spying War

2011-04-14T23:12:00.002+05:30

Image by Josh Chin

A recent report of Reuters says that China and US have involved in a never ending electronic war against each other.

China and US with a strong economy and military though show to the international media that they are trying to clear differences, trying to ease their policies against each other, but in actual they are fighting a war behind the screen. A war of hacking each others's computers and stealing sensitive information and spying on top officials' email accounts.

The report says that both US and China are trying to do their best in hacking and spying but for a while US is in defensive mode whereas China has an aggressive stance.

"The attacks coming out of China are not only continuing, they are accelerating," says Alan Paller, director of research at information-security training group SANS Institute in Washington, DC, as quoted by the Reuters.

It is believed that China has hacked terrabytes of information from US computers which comprise of almost any single information, from user names and passwords to the design of sophisticated weapon systems.

China's policy has been to copy things and declare it as their own. China lacks new ideas thinkers so they have mastered in the art of copying and stealing.

It is not like that US never tried to hack their systems, just that they have lagged behind in new methods of hacking.

A cable accessed by the Reuters through Wikileaks says that the attacks were coming from the sites which were registered in the city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in central China. The Reuters also named the person as Chen Xingpeng whose job was to set up the websites using the "precise" postal code in Chengdu used by the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Province First Technical Reconnaissance Bureau (TRB), an electronic espionage unit of the Chinese military.

Not only military and political data was leaked but China also tried its greedy hands on US companies and market. Many tech companies, oil and gas companies and companies in financial sector reported that their systems were hacked at some or the other point of the time. Major search engine, Google also said that their email service Gmail was hacked and many accounts were compromised who ever interfered in China's internal policy.

James A. Lewis, a former US diplomat says that the reason why China is these days trying so much to get access to US, Indians and other country's system is to keep its economy growing and at the second position. "They've identified innovation as crucial to future economic growth -- but they're not sure they can do it," says Lewis. "The easiest way to innovate is to plagiarise" by stealing US intellectual property, he adds as quoted by the Reuters.

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Pakistan's JF-17 V/S India's LCA-Tejas; Comparison With Latest Figures

2011-04-13T02:44:00.005+05:30

India's 5th Gen Indigenous
Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft

The major rival brothers in the world, who have been fighting against each other since their birth, used to fight with foreign weapons earlier, but now they want to fight in a new style, that is with their indigenous weapons.

Which Aircraft Do You Prefer?

Pakistan, as a member of US led military pact CENTO and SEATO, started receiving high tech weapons of that time with money to keep an eye on India and launch an assault when needed. Seeing this, India began to import weapons from Soviet Union and started upgrading its force. Both the countries started filling up their inventory at the same time and today both are facing the problems of their ageing fighters aircrafts.

Highlights: Dassualt Rafale Wins 126 MMRCA Jet Fighters Deal With India

India is in urgent need of replacing its ageing MiG 21 whereas Pakistan is in need of replacing its ageing Nanchang A-5 bombers, Chengdu F-7 interceptors and Mirage III/5 fighters.

India decided to start a project of making an indigenous fighter aircraft that can serve in all purposes of the air force, whereas Pakistan joined later an already going on Chinese project of development of a fighter aircraft.

Both India and Pakistan claim their aircraft as indigenous, but as on April 13, 2011 none of the aircraft is 100% indigenous as India is using american GE engine to power the fighter and Pakistan is using almost all the technology from China and engine from Russia in their version of the fighter.

It is believed that when India will complete its Kaveri engine project which was supposed to power LCA earlier, then LCA can be proudly claimed by Indians as an indigenous aircraft. India couldn't use indigenous engine in the prototype of LCA due to a delay caused by technical difficulties in the development of the engine.

If India completes the engine, it will become the fifth country after US, UK, Russia and France who can make their own engine.

Today both LCA and JF-17 are reality and not on papers anymore. Tejas was inducted on 11 Jan, 2011 whereas JF-17 was inducted last year in Pakistani air force.

Both Indians and Pakistani have already started loving their new weapon, but in this new love they commit a mistake of comparing these two planes with each other. JF-17 will be Pakistan's main fighter accompanied by their upgraded F-16s, whereas LCA Tejas will be India's additional aircraft for medium role combat missions after Indo-Russian 5th generation fighter aircraft PAK-FA, Under-development indigenous 5th Gen AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft), Indo Russian 4.5 Gen Su-30MKI and to-be-inducted 126 4.5 Gen MRCA Dassualt Rafael (Multi Role Combat Aircraft).

Comparison According to 2008 Aviation Source Book, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 28, 2008 and DRDO TechFocus February 2011". DRDO. February 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.

While Pakistan and China claim there aircraft as indigenous and result of 50-50 partnership between China and Pakistan, there are lot of foreign companies and organizations involved in making it a success.

After the U.S and European companies cancelled their participation in the development of the westernized Chengdu J-7 variant known as Super 7 which is openly based on MiG 21 design, China launched a program to develop an indigenous evolution of this Mig 21 based design. which was named as FC -1 (Fighter China 1)

To expedite its development, in 1998, China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) purchased the abandoned Mikoyan MAPO Izd 33 design, research and test information and data along with other research and technical assistance which was developed under Project 33. This doesn't mean that the design was now based on Mig 33 or that FC - 1 is the continuation of Soviet Project 33. The Project 33 started in 1980 and was stopped in 1986 taking the note of changing Soviet Union's Air Force's demands. Though later the improved version of the same design was introduced at the 1994 Farnborough Air Show as the briefly used marketing name for the MiG-29ME export model of the MiG-29M.

Although engineers from the Mikoyan Aero-Science Production Group (MASPG) have provided technical, research and design assistance on the FC-1 project, its aerodynamic design is quite different from that of Project 33. The wings are attached at mid-fuselage on the FC-1, whereas the Izd 33 is a low-wing design. The FC-1’s platform resembles that of the F-16, while that of the Izd 33 is similar to the MiG-29. The FC-1’s inlets are 'D'-shaped and angled, but those for the Izd 33 are rectangular and slab-sided. Given the FC-1’s heritage of the 'Super 7', J-7, and MiG-21, some analysts believe that the FC-1’s internal structure is more likely based on the MiG-21 than on the Izd 33, which some have called a “single-engine MiG-29”.

Looking at the pictures one may say that the JF-17 Plane uses Soviet era's MiG 21 airframe which is highly debatable. Although avionics and other basic things are superior in JF-17 than MiG 21.

In October 1995 Pakistan was asked to select a Western company before the end of the year which would provide and integrate the avionics in FC-1 for them (Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1995/10/18/21419/pakistan-nears-fc-1-avionics-decision.html).

Avionics suites were being proposed by FIAR and Thomson-CSF, based on the Grifo S7 and RC400 radars respectively (source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1999/07/14/53912/china-and-pakistan-agree-on-super-7-fighter-development.html).

Russia's Klimov offered a variant of the RD-33 turbofan engine to power the fighter. Russia earlier had denied China from transferring the engine to Pakistan as it was against Russian policy and India's interest, but later, for some reason, Russia had no issue in China supplying those engines to Pakistan. To international media they replied in diplomatic parlance, Chinese were in such a hurry that they had not heard the last word from Russia on this subject. It is believed that Pakistan is unsatisfied with the engine and a new deal for a different engine, most probably to have Snecma M53-P2 could be finalized.

Rather than using the Ada programming language, which is developed dedicated for military applications, the software for the aircraft is written using the popular civilian C++ programming language which students use to develop programs in high schools, this might give an edge to Pakistan where software industry is not very skilled and C++ resources can be easily trained in large numbers (source: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/stuck-in-sichuan-pakistani-jf17-program-grounded-02984/).

In India's LCA case: Airframe, Radar, Avionics, Cockpit, landing Gear, Ejection System, Flight Simulator, Software, Propulsion (when Kaveri will come) all are home made.

The pictures below are posted so people can compare JF 17 design with MiG 21 and MiG 29.

JF-17

MiG 21

MiG 29

Images of LCA:

Now among these two aircrafts it is very difficult to comment which one is better, as these aircrafts don't belong to the same category. In terms of development, India's LCA offers something new to the world, new design, new weapons, new systems and, in future, a new engine. While LCA was never made to be Indi's Sukhoi but it does gives the platform to India for further modification and development of new projects Whereas Pakistan's JF-17 is a modification of many previous technologies.

LCA program was started in 1983, whereas JF-17 program was started in 1989 as Chengdu F-7, which was later changed to Fighter China project in 1991. In 1995 Pakistan reportedly joined the project.

Though China has kept development and production of JF-17 on for delivering them to Pakistan and my be to other countries, it prefers J-10 fighters over JF-17 for its own airforce.

Both LCA and JF-17 are 4th generation fighter aircraft, but advanced composite frames and high tech electronics/avionics made international expert call LCA-Tejas a 4.5 Gen aircraft during Aero India 2010, in Bangalore.

While JF-17s are very much needed to serve depleting Pakistani Air Force as a main fighter along with F-16s, LCA is mainly a research project India has carried through these years. LCA was never made to compare with Sukhois, but it has faired very well on international level and now India has a platform and can develop more aircrafts on this platform as the plan of AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, an indigenous 5th gen stealth fighter) has already been cleared by the government.

While India has achieved self reliance in Air Fighter technology, Pakistan has achieved an experience of working in joint venture. It is the first major project of Pakistan with an international joint venture. India has previously worked with Russia in a partnership on development of world's only supersonic cruise missile, Brahmos. Presently, India and Russia are also working on the development of 5th generation fighter aircraft PAK-FA, in a move to regain the air dominance which was taken over by the americans with their 5th gen F-22 which outsmarted Sukhoi 30 MKI, also a product of Indo-Russian partnership. India and France are also working on Surface to Air Missile "Maitri" project.

A Little bit of Fun and Sarcasm

"JF-17 Not as advanced as LCA: Nawaz Sharif, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan"(jpeg)

"I have heard it is very advanced plane, but it is not ready yet." said Nawaz Sharif to retired Air Commodre Pervez Khokhar. Praising the JF-17 without mentioning Chinese cooperation, he further added in light mood, "I am saying you buy this plane from us, though it is not as advanced as your LCA, but it also has a glass cockpit like yours and can drop bombs for you," he said in sarcastic mood.

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China Launched Orbiter for its Own Version of GPS

2011-04-10T18:21:00.001+05:30

Image by Gustavo Duran

GPS is not a new thing, these days we have this system inbuilt on our smartphones. Civilians and military of various countries have been using this technology for positioning and finding position of oneself. But since its controls lies in the hands of US military you are never sure when they will close this service for you.

Many militaries have developed missiles and weapons which rely on this technology. It is confirmed few years later when India tried to test its world's fastest next generation Brahmos cruise missile, US military had switched off the GPS service to make the testing fail.

After that incident some major powers had decided to make their own GPS systems. Russia was already working on "GLONASS" their own version of GPS. India had joined hands with Russia, its all weather friend, to develop as well as launch these satellites in space (Read: India may ink the deal of 126 jets with Russia). Apart from this India is working on its own version of GPS its reach will not be global, but only in the subcontinent, that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia, etc.

China on the fine morning of 10th April has also launched its eighth orbiter which will join previous 7 and coming up more than 25 further orbiter to form an indigenous navigational and positional system.

A Long March-3A carrier rocket carrying the "Beidou" or Compass, navigation satellite took off at 4.47 a.m. Sunday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Xinhua reported.

A successful launch has setup the foundation of the program and it should start giving basic functionality soon when it gets activated.

China is expected to allow this facility for commercial and safety use as well. Taxis, fisherman, buses will have this regional positioning system installed by 2020.

But it will be most useful for the growing Chinese ambitious military. Everything is great until a war is waged. The good thing is that now India, China and Russia understand that they shouldn't rely on foreign technology.

But it is not good to know that for the same purpose each country is launching 30-50 satellites in the space creating so much mess above the earth, penetrating atmosphere by rockets again and again causes a different kind of pollution which damages our atmosphere very significantly.

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Chinese Presence in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is Confirmed: US Report

2011-04-10T12:36:00.004+05:30

Looking east from the top of the ski hill in Gulmarg

at the Himalayas across the Kashmir valley.

Image by batschmidt

When there is a latency of two super giants abreast each other, peace and stability cannot be achieved so easily. So is the case with India and China. They are not just energy and resource hungry two giants, but nations based on two totally different ideologies. While India is a democratic and open country, China maintains a non transparent communist government. (Read: China's Military Presence in Kashmir; Causes and Effects)

It was a cause of worry when India received reports of presence of Chinese troops in huge numbers on its northern borders with Pakistan. India knew about Chinese troops helping Pakistan build Karakoram highway since 2009. But presence of troops now almost in all part of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is alarming.

Matter was shared a number of times with Chinese authorities and everytime China did nothing but simply denied the Indian claims.

A recent report from US has confirmed India's claims of the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir along the whole Line of Control, who are indulged in other activities as well than constructing the highway.

Last week, the chief of the Northern Command, Lieutenant General K T Parnaik disclosed openly about the increasing presence of Chinese troops along the LOC (Read: China's Military Presence in Kashmir; Causes and Effects). Chinese foreign minister had denied the claim immediately, but since international authorities and agencies have also confirmed his claims, Chinese ministers are now thinking what to answer and how to respond.

"We have a strong real time intelligence sharing mechanism with the US and they have conveyed the same thing to Indian agencies including RAW – that these troops are stationed all along the LoC in PoK. They conveyed this to Indian agencies independently without us seeking any confirmation from them," said an official to the reporters of TOI, adding that the government at the highest level was aware of the latest developments in PoK.

Saying that this is not the first time US and Indian authorities have raised this issue concerning heightened presence of Chinese troops in the region, but all the time previously their presence was restricted to Gilgit-Baltistan region but that is not the case now. "Their confirmation seemed to be based on technical intelligence. They said these Chinese troops seemed to be involved in construction activities," he added.

In two days (that is on April 12), Prime Minister of India is visiting China for BRICS summit. He is expected to talk on this issue in a bilateral meeting with China as well.

Images from different sources, copyright belongs to their respective owners.

Indian Side of Kashmir

Clockwise: 1. Kashmir Railway. While most of the Kashmir is connected, toughest task is remaining: to connect it with the rest of the Indian railways network. High mountains, difficult terrain and cross-border terrorism makes this project a very difficult task which is now almost 80% completed.

2. NIT, Srinagar. A well known institute of India. NITs comes after IITs and is an advanced engineering college in Indian side of Kashmir.

3. Railway Bridge on Chenab River, the photo itself describes the level of development.

4. A scene of colourful and prosperous homes in the city of Srinagar.

5. Skiing in Gulmarg, World famous skiing paradise, festivals and competitions on international levels held annually. (image from Paradise camping Resort)

6. Kashmir University, centre of education.

7. Army guarding the movement of people in the train from one place to the other.

Pakistani side of Kashmir

Clockwise: 1. Needs no explanation, killing hindus

2. Terrorist training camps, high class professional terrorists are then exported to India, US and Europe

3. Scene of Capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

4. Children forced to play with guns instead of giving education.

Once again this was an attempt to bring out the reality with images, most of the images are licensed under creative commons, free to reuse. If you think the image belongs to you and it shouldn't be here, kindly notify us. If you think we can keep the images here with a link to your webpage, kindly notify us. Thank You

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China's Military Presence in Kashmir; Causes and Effects

2011-04-06T00:57:00.001+05:30

Indian Kashmir Valley, a paradise. Photo by Cj Roberts

While India is a open, democratic and free country, China is a non-transparent, communist and strict country. So strict that its massive development expansion plans cannot be demurred by anyone even if homes of thousands has to be ravaged for the construction of a dam.

When it doesn't listen to the people of its own, it will not listen to others who will try to come in between. Future wars will not be fought in battlefields but on the oil/resource fields. India and China instead of fighting at the border are now fighting in the jungles of Africa for resources. China had secured many fields much before India actually started looking towards Africa. Now when India is there, China doesn't like it.

The only thing which hinders China from attacking India is the billion dollar worth trade. It doesn't want to jeopardize its economy by assailing another economic superpower.

To contain India and check India's expanding area of influence, China has created a hypothetical ring around India, known as string of pearls, also referred as Chinese String of Pearls Theory.

Pakistani girls gave Chinese President Hu a hearty
greeting by waving six-star red flags. AFP

As of now we only knew that China is involved in various construction projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, a disputed territory where things with international loan or help can not be built, but today reports have substantiated that Chinese military presence in the region is adequate to raise alarm in India. The military strength of China is increasing in the region. The Chinese footprints are now way to close for comfort for India.

Chinese presence in North and West Kashmir is a cause of concern among authorities in Kashmir about the fact that if India and Pakistan fall into a state of hostility then what China, being an accomplice to Pakistan would do?

Though China had made it clear that it is not willing to intervene either politically or militarily in Kashmir issue, but Sino-Indian war of 1962 after signing Panchsheel agreement makes Chinese unpredictable and their acts of threats as contingent.

China's all weathered close friendship with Pakistan just because both the nations share common views on India is dangerous. Their links with Pakistan through Occupied Kashmir lends sturdiness to the nexus between the two countries which is a cause of great security concern for India.

This strategic nexus between these two militaristic nations may imperil India's regional strategic interests in the long run. It will facilitate Pakistani Army to prepare and develop itself better and at the time of hostility the presence of Pakistani and Chinese army will outnumber India's

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China Challenges the Currency System, World Needs Alternatives

2011-01-17T17:49:00.000+05:30

By calling the currently dominated currency system by US as "the product of the past." Chinese president Hu Jintao called for a change in its system by replacing US dollars with Yuan, its own currency.

Mr Hu also criticized the decision by the US Federal Reserve to inject $600bn into the economy, which some argue will weaken the dollar at the expense of other countries' exports. "The monetary policy of the United States has a major impact on global liquidity and capital flows and therefore, the liquidity of the US dollar should be kept at a reasonable and stable level," said President Hu, as quoted by the BBC.

A global currency is the currency in which vast or major amount of trade/transaction takes place, presently most of the countries trade on the basis of US Dollar, but after the global economic crisis of 2009 China and Russia called for an urgent revision of international currency system and supported the consideration of a global currency.

Till date Spanish Dollar (17th - 19th century), Gold (19th to World War I) and US dollar (20th century) had been used as international currency and now US dollar and Euro serves the same.

On March 2009, Russia had called for a supranational reserve currency as part of a reform of the global financial system, which supports diversification of the list of currencies used as reserve ones. Whereas in the same month, President of People's bank of China called for the creative reform of the existing international monetary system towards an international reserve currency," as it would significantly reduce the risks of a future crisis and enhance crisis management capability.

Money always adds to the power, but today's wars are literally fought with money. A powerful economy can manipulate its currency to gain the most from international export trade. US blames China of manipulating Yuan, and rest of the world blames US of adopting selfish policies which makes US dollar strong at the expense of other economies of the world.

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How India Will Outsmart China?

2010-10-07T21:43:00.000+05:30

Recently an article on the Economist.com showcased two main points. India's large young population, which is the working force and democracy that is comparatively more transparency in the system and people's power will help it to overtake China in the next few years.

This is not the first time, such discussion have taken place in various forums and debates. Some believe that west is comparing India and China to introduce the fruits of rivalry and competition thus engaging them in themselves so that bourgeois Chinese economy and military poses no threats to them. While India doesn't even stand close to China in majority of things. People compare the projected future positions of India and China by analyzing the growth rate.

How China is doing good?

China with a large workforce has a policy of doing things and not just talking. China believes in more doing then just talking. And doesn't listen to those who come in between the plan. Unlike India where villagers and activists have full rights of protesting against a development of a dam or an industrial plant in their area, some are genuine, some do for money, and some do for politics.

Earning friends by helping them with its power, securing deals with other countries. Offering construction and development help in friendly countries has increased the overall image of 'Brand China'. China is successful in grabbing the deals and stakes on natural resources much before India. China has been doing good business in Africa whereas India is just starting now.

What India needs to do?

Optimist predictors believe in the few next years India will be a next China just more friendlier and open. Whereas pessimists believe India has to do a lot and such kinds of comparisons are just a public advertisement about the greatness of India. When starting a healthy discussion, one can name a long list of positive points of India which China doesn't have, but one can also name huge list of problems which India has in its system and society which again China doesn't have or have it very less compared to India.

India needs to have more stronger policy against corruption and those who corrupt the system. Tackling corruption smartly can help in many ways to decrease the inter related social evils of poverty, illiteracy, caste-ism, unemployment and health problems. Since lots of money spent by the Central government for the welfare of such people sometimes never reaches them and is eaten by others in between.

India needs to enhance its road and transport network. Majority of productive workers, officers waste their time in traffic jams caused by heavy number of cars and buses plying on the roads with animals and slow moving cycles and Rickshaws on the same lanes.

Good Foreign relations and foreign policy is required without disturbing the relations with Russia. Partnership with organizations who are willing to work for the welfare of the poor. If India can spend millions on construction and development work in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, of course India can spend money for its own development.

Why India Still Attracts?

Like China, India also has huge workforce, cheap and skilled labours, but the major advantage Indians have is the large English speaking population. After America, population wise India is the second largest English speaking country. IT sector, software department has been so successful that now more and more companies are looking towards India for outsourcing their business. Unlike China, comparatively, India still needs lots of infrastructure development thus giving opportunity for the foreign investors to engage in such projects. While China's military and its expansion has an aggressive stance, Indian military maintains a defensive stance, which has proved to be very useful in earning trust and faith of major countries.

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Anti Japan Protest in China Marking Mukden anniversary

2010-09-18T17:22:00.003+05:30

Several Protesters protested outside the Japanese Embassy in China marking the anniversary of Mukden or Manchuria incident September 18, 1931.

Mukden incident is among the series of incident or small engagement of war between China and Japan happened near Shenyang (then Mukden) in Manchuria, before the Second Sino-Japan war. It was a result of blowing off a section of Railway owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway by Chinese miscreants in Southern Manchuria, China. The Japanese Army responded by invading Manchuria blaming China for the act.

Anti Japan protest became stronger after the news of Japan Arresting Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed islands and the death of Chinese Panda in Japan when vets were trying to collect semen to impregnate his mate.

Another cause of anger among the Chinese public against Japan is the right of gas exploration in and around the disputed Island called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan located in the East China Sea. The island is though controlled by Japan since 1972 but is claimed by both Taiwan and China. The island has a rich gas field, and both the energy hungry countries wants to harness the resource by themselves.

Japan's strong ambitions raised after the end of war with Russia in 1904-05, from the islands near Russia they had their reach up to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. The Sino-Japan war ended only after the surrender of Japan during the second world war.

Ties between Japan and China have been experiencing ups and down over the time. China considers a strong Japan in its neighbourhood as a threat. Though China surpassed Japan in economy becoming the second largest economy in the world. Japan is still more active and carries the international support slightly more than China. Japan maintains a transparency and hardly talks of war after Nuclear explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese companies especially electronics and auto sector have a strong hold in most of the countries in the world thus popularizing and creating an impact of the Brand Japan in the world. Whereas the Made in China brand is now seen as low quality.

The protest by the angry Chinese nationalists is well encouraged by the ruling Communist Party of China, but is working to control the protest in a peaceful manner to avoid more deterioration of relations with Japan. Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing shouted "Down with Japan" and held signs saying "Get out of the Diaoyu Islands" but were moved away by police within an hour. They later were allowed to pass by in small groups, while the rest marched outside a police cordon. (See: Chinese hold anti-Japan protests over boat dispute)

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9 Steps to Counter China; Can India face the dragon?

2010-09-05T11:15:00.008+05:30

Once again the tensed environment has been created on this region of South Asia, where India and China are fighting war of words

Chinese irrelevant strong claims on India's northeastern most province of Arunachal Pradesh & a part of Kashmir, objecting the separate visits of Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and Dalai Lama, frequent deep intrusion in the Indian territory, Sailing in the Indian Ocean near Indian territory, Supporting Pakistan, its Army and helping build them infrastructure in the disputed Indian Kashmir. Pushing opium and fake money in the Indian market, has made India to take the dialogue process seriously with China. (See: China's Yin-Yang Behaviour) India's deployment of 200 Su 30MKI in the Arunachal Pradesh was an answer but we don't want any military action.

Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh is totally baseless as they have neither ruled nor they ever have any communication with this part in the complete history. China claims this part belongs to Tibet which it has been controlling now, but Dalai Lama has recently mentioned clearly that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.

Daily something new we get to hear on this topic in media, but still the government of India is maintaining a soft approach towards China probably due to it doesn't want to risk the billion dollar worth bilateral trade.

What ever is happening with India, India seems to be not affected by continuous bullying by China, but can India do something to control it? China has surrounded India from all the sides (Read: Chinese String of Pearls Theory) If India won't act, China will take India soft and will either include it in its own influence and try maintain its monopoly in the region or it will crush India. If India has to do something it should have a strong economy first, strong international relations second, and good military third. Then only India can keep its stand otherwise messing with China will be like inviting punishment for India.

Steps to counter China:

1. Recognize Taiwan: India enjoys very good relations as well as trade relations with Taiwan, China claims Taiwan as its territory and Taiwanese hates China for this reason, people of Taiwan like India and believe India has the potential to do something on international forum about China and Taiwan issue in the future. India still not officially recognizes Taiwan, recognizing Taiwan will be a very aggressive move and can be dangerous too. So we can keep this card handy for future use.

2. Maintain Nepal: India has been pouring billions to help Nepal build infrastructure, India should also think of maintaining the relationship with Nepal specially after the formation of new government which is pro Chinese.

3. Recognition of Tibet: Again it will be a very aggressive move. Tibet was an independent country before 1951 which was later forcibly annexed by China. If China doesn't recognize Kashmir as India's part, then India has good reasons to not to recognize Tibet as China. For past four decades India has been providing shelter and market to Tibetan refugees. If China can't take care of these innocent people who are fleeing to India everyday, then China on no grounds can call Tibet as China.

4. Good relations with Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Afghanistan: It is important to maintain good relations with all of the neighbours for India. Although Many of them have already fell into China's influence, it is still not too late. If India makes excellent relations with them as well, these countries will ensure that China won't use them against India. Further India should be quick to grab tenders, deals and development projects in these countries.

5. Card of Mongolia: This card can only be played when India and China will stand on the same status. Good relation with Mongolia will be necessary to setup bases and camps on the northern border of China to pressurize it from both the sides. India already enjoys good relations with Mongolia, but a little more effort is required to convert this relation into strategic.

6. Card of Central Asia: Energy rich Central Asia is needed for the growth of the country, China has already sealed many deals with these countries, India shouldn't be late to grab few deals as well.

7. Card of Japan: China and Japan relations had always been bitter. India may like to use this card when it will be strong enough to prevent any aggressive move by China. That is, having a good trade with Japan will be in India's interest. In this case, either China will force India to close ties with Japan or will start a dialogue with India to sort out the issues which is in India's interest.

8. Russia: Soviet Union always preferred India over China, but it had to maintain good relations with its communist neighbour as well. That's why Russia couldn't do much during Indo-China war in 1962. Now that such condition doesn't exist a strong Russia is needed to solve the issues if war breaks out between India and China, as Russia maintains relations with both.

9. Finally good relations with Pakistan: This one is unlikely to happen in near future. China has been developing infrastructure in Pakistan, training their army and providing them weapons and technology just to make Pakistan equal to India so that it can keep India and Pakistan busy and allow then not to grow. China and Pakistan are friends because both consider India as enemy. If India makes good relations with Pakistan. China will not find Pakistan of much use.

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Why Indo-China ties will be more favourable than Sino-Pak

2010-07-07T22:51:00.004+05:30

A wonderful discussion started by a Pakistani man recently on Pakistani Defence Forum caught my attention, Why will China chose India over Pakistan or Which ties will be more favourable for the stability in the region.

Pakistan and China considers each other all weather friend. When China was in need of expanding its influence, Russia, America, Europe, Japan, and India had differences with it. India giving shelter to Tibetan peaceful leader Dalai Lama angered China. Pakistan and China, both anti India, became allies.

But today the situation is little different. Pakistan, though it receives daily billions of dollars from US, Europe, gulf and other friendly countries as military and economic aid, it is unable to tackle the terrorism and insurgency, which it once used and nourished as an strategical asset against India.

Pakistan/China cooperation is strictly limited to military and governmental levels. There is very little people-to-people contact and almost no cultural exchange. The relationship is one of 'colleagues, not friends'.

Pakistan and China virtually share any culture, hardly people in Pakistan watch Chinese shows and hardly Chinese people care about Pakistan's. Often Chinese fail to differentiate between Indians and Pakistani and think they are Indians. Chinese are familiar with Indian movies, A huge population in India in its northern border along the Himalayas to the north east shares Buddhist culture with Chinese and Tibetans. And the trade value between India and China is the largest in the region.

India is using its soft power to build a positive image amongst the Chinese masses. As China becomes more democratic, it will tilt more and more towards India. As what happened with US. While the Pakistan military government enjoyed a cozy relationship with the Pentagon, India was busy buying politicians and working on a grass-roots campaign within the US.

Yes India-Chinese ties may become fruitful but still one can not think of high level cooperation and mutual understanding between the two nations. Russia, China, India may become a powerful group whose policies will affect the world as it does at minor level now.

The problem always arises when two giants stand up side by side with one trying to press another. China and India will hopefully learn to live side by side as Russia and China.

Future wars will be fought for resources and not for borders, in that case again China and India will be rivals as they will be scanning Africa and resourceful places. In that case more possible ties can be between India and Pakistan. Same people, same food, same language and same religion, One day will come when they will realize they were unnecessarily fighting.

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US Report: China gifted nuclear bomb and Pakistan Acquired the technology

2009-11-18T19:15:00.004+05:30

A new US Congressional report has challenged the Pakistani story that India's first nuclear test in 1974 was the trigger for its nuclear weapons quest. The Congressional Research Service's May 15 report to US lawmaker said that Pakistan's nuclear energy program dates back to the 1950s "but it was the loss of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in a bloody war with India that probably triggered a political decision in January 1972 (just one month later) to begin a secret nuclear weapons program." It further added that Pakistan's argument was falsely represented to the international community, that it was forced to take the nuclear weapons path because it was provoked by India's first nuclear test in 1974.

One such expert, White House insider Bruce Riedel, who recently co-authored the Obama administration's Af-Pak policy, offered the following sequence in a recent op-ed, broadly concurring with the CRS report:

"The origins of the Pakistani nuclear program lies in the deep national humiliation of the 1971 war with India that led to the partition of the country, the independence of Bangladesh and the destruction of the dream of a single Muslim state for all of south Asia's Muslim population." The military dictator at the time, Yahya Khan, presided over the loss of half the nation, the surrender of 90,000 Pakistani soldiers in Dacca. The Pakistani establishment determined it must develop a nuclear weapon to counter India's conventional superiority.

The new prime minister of those times, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, secretly convened the country's top 50 scientists in January 1972 and challenged them to build a bomb. He famously said that Pakistanis would sacrifice everything and "eat grass" to get a nuclear deterrent. The 1974 Indian nuclear test helped Pakistan to tell the world that this is the cause of their nuclear bomb. Starting in 1972, Pakistan came up with its own nuclear bomb in 1998 with the slight help of China, just a few days after India's second nuclear test

The Report further added, "Mr. Bhutto received an unsolicited letter from a Pakistani scientist who had studied in Louvain, Belgium, Abdul Qadeer Khan, offering to help by illegally acquiring sensitive centrifuge technology from his new employers at a nuclear facility in the Netherlands. Over the next few years—with the assistance of the Pakistani intelligence service, the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI)—Mr. Khan would acquire the key technology to help Pakistan produce fissionable material to make a bomb."

Both the CRS report and Riedel pointed out to the help which China gave to Pakistan in its nuclear weapons quest, a subject successive US administrations are leery of broaching for fear of angering Beijing. "Islamabad gained technology from many illegal sources," says the CRS report, adding, "This extensive assistance is reported to have included, among other things, uranium enrichment technology from Europe (stolen by Khan, according to Riedel), blueprints for a small nuclear weapon from China, and missile technology from China and North Korea."

Riedel concurs, writing, "China also helped the nascent Pakistani program overcome technical challenges." According to some accounts by proliferation experts, it allowed Pakistani scientists to participate in Chinese tests to help them learn more about the bomb.

Pakistan not only acquired the bomb and technology but some unconfirmed sources reports Pakistan to help other countries like Iran, Libya and North Korea to make a nuclear bomb, even though this transfer of technology is considered highly illegal. "An angry, humiliated, and wounded A.Q.Khan (father of Pakistan Nuclear Bomb) has finally made public what has long been suspected: his nuclear proliferation activities that included exchanging and passing blue-prints, technology and equipment to China, Iran, North Korea, and Libya was done at the behest of the Pakistani government and military, and he was forced to take the rap for it." (Source: AQ Khan nails Pakistan's nuke lies: Times Group)

After acquiring the bomb, Pakistan gave main attention to its conventional power building. At a press conference held during an international exhibition of defense equipment in Turkey last summer, a Russian military delegation harshly criticized the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Company for copying Russian weapons systems. The Russians claimed that the POF’s RPG-7P anti-tank rockets, 122-mm D-30 howitzer ammunition and PK-10 assault guns were 100-percent imitations of Russian systems. The PK-10 assault gun is a Pakistani version of the Russian Kalashnikov, or AK-47, the Russians pointed out. As for the other two weapons, even the names remain the same. (Source: Russia confronts Pakistan, China over copied weapons)

The Brookings said in one of its article, Pakistan and the Bomb: Pakistan is a unique nuclear weapons state. It has been both the recipient of technology transfers from other states and a supplier of technology to still other states. It has been a state sponsor of proliferation and has tolerated private sector proliferation as well. Pakistan has engaged in highly provocative behavior against India, even initiating a limited war, and sponsored terrorist groups that have engaged in mass casualty terrorism inside India’s cities, most recently last November in Mumbai. No other nuclear weapons state has done all of these provocative actions.

Chinese evil plans to balkanise Indian Union

2009-10-01T15:58:00.001+05:30

Many reports are coming in about the deep incursion into the Indian Territory by the Chinese Army, painting the rocks red and writing China in Cantonese (China's Yin Yang Behavior)

China has been adopting an ominously aggressive anti-India posture for quite some time now. India and China had hold many meetings for a solution but the talks, which have gone on for years, have not taken India and China a millimeter nearer to the solution.

A news coming out of China, showed the evil plans of Balkanising India into 20 to 30 separate nations. The news came out of an article which was first published on the website of China Institute of International Strategic Studies in April 2009. The article says disintegration of India is necessary for China's security and greater position in Asia. China is thus trying to play cards of getting cozier with Indian neighbours and then play them against India.

China believes Bangladesh might claim West Bengal and help China in spreading Chinese influence in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Tamil separatists may demand for a separate state of Tamils in Tamil Nadu and North Sri Lanka. China and Pakistan are together supporting insurgencies in India and are pushing terrorists, fake currency and exporting duplicate Indian products in the international markets.

The threat is even more visible with recent hardening of Chinese attitude towards India, as shown by its minatory postures and repeated intrusion along Indian northern borders and repeated claims of Arunachal Pradesh in north east India.

China considers Arunachal Pradesh as its territory, though never in the history China has ever ruled that region. China doesn't ask for passport from the people of Arunachal Pradesh who want to visit China, instead they issue a stapled visa. China tried to block India's application for an ADB loan of $2.9 billion for a flood control project. Though later China had lost this case.

China has been upgrading infrastructure, military and surveillance systems on its borders. The Indian side responded by deploying Su-30MKI in the region and around 55000 soldiers alone in Arunachal pradesh.

The State of Tamil Nadu is already showing signs of separation. A recent statement by Jayalalitha proposing a new Tamil state for Tamilans in Sri Lanka raised many eyebrows, as it was a bit worrying, thinking about what to follow next (Source: Call to create a Tamil state). Also, the Anti hindi Agitation protests coming in the years of 1938, 1948, 1952, and 1965 is a bit worrying for the Indian Union.(Source : Anti Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu)

China hopes to replace U.S and emerge as the sole superpower dominating the world by 2050. It will never like its neighbor to be a competitor, strong in economy, technology and political structure.

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China's Yin-Yang Behaviour

2009-09-22T09:27:00.005+05:30

Though the Indian side keeps maintaining the statement that the Chinese border has been the most peaceful among all other Indian border, something is not going well on the northern frontier.

In early September of this year, a delegation to China lead by former minister of state of external affairs, Rao Inderjit Singh, was quashed as the reports of People’s Liberation Army’s intrusion in India came in. The Chinese army violated the international border line and infiltrated deep into the Indian Territory in Ladakh.

The weekly Magazine quoted P. Stobdan saying “Chinese soldiers entered Indian Territory; they painted the rocks red and asked the shepherds and the local people to vacate the place.”

It is not the first case of intrusion. There have been many such incidents, according to Ajeet Kumar Sahu, District Magistrate of Leh (District headquarter of Ladakh). Chinese helicopters also invaded the territory last June. The government is putting curtains on this whole issue. The reason might be the unpreparedness of India for a war with China. And that will be the case for the next 15 years or more.

Both Pakistani and Chinese army have far greater autonomy than Indian Army. The Indian army is totally under government and cannot take any decision without notifying the government, whereas the power of other two armies is so great that they can even overthrow the government and establish a military rule, as in the case of Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

At one side in the field of business, China and India are doing well together and for one another. China also participated in the first BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) summit in Yekaterinburg. Two major auto companies of India, Bajaj and Mahindra, have started production in China. (Another thing that China has made fake - a version of Bajaj’s Pulsar and it's selling in cheap prizes, which has turned the Bajaj Auto’s sale down.)

On the other hand China is surrounding India from all the sides, making bases everywhere. A number of airbases on the border and missile silo is increasing every day. China talks about peace in the region with India but then provides Pakistan weapons, ammunition, training, nuclear fuel and money in billion dollars. China is also making a naval base in Pakistan, few 100KM away from India. It is a known fact that China is pushing fake, duplicate and cheap quality products into the Indian markets. After the reports of production of duplicate drugs of Indian pharmaceuticals companies by China and exporting contaminated milk to India and to other countries, India has banned few of the Chinese products like dairy products, toys etc. On this China says it will do a tit for tat.

After the Chinese government took over Tibet (which was strongly opposed by India), the conflict between India and China raised. However, both nations were newly established, hence they explored ways to avoid wars and in 1954 the two countries signed Panchseel (5 Agreements).

Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
Mutual non-aggression
Mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs
Equality and mutual benefit
Peaceful co-existence

But, in 1962, China violated this agreement and launched an offensive attack on North India, without giving any warning. India lost that war and lost a part of its territory to China.

The relation with China is half good and half bad. It is like yin-yang. One side of China is good but other side is bad. India doesn't want to spoil the bilateral trade with China worth $15 billion during the hard period of recession. But it should be cautious about its own geopolitical and economic security.

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China's New Weapon

2009-07-10T13:06:00.005+05:30

No, China hasn't developed a new nuclear submarine or a new bio weapon. But it is using a similar strategy used by Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, which pushes fake Indian currency in the market, thus making a hole in the growing Indian economy. This time, China is selling drugs produced in China but having "Made in India" tag. A test report by The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) of Nigeria, said that the anti malaria drugs were made in China and are having "Made in India" tag. Africa, including Nigeria, is a big market of Indian pharmaceuticals companies. Indian pharmaceuticals brand like Ranbaxy and Cipla, which are one of the top drug producers in the world, are very famous in the African continent.

A similar Indian report also confirmed this. Indians officials are alarmed. This action of China was plotted to defame Indian drugs in Africa and to capture the whole market.

China's economic expansion strategy is very different from the rest of the world. It includes exporting fake products (you will easily get fake iPods, Mobile phones, footwears, Computer hardware, etc.) at very cheap rates. This creates a problem for the actual company, one of the main reason why almost all the companies are facing losses.

Recently Australia and New Zealand have banned Chinese dairy product imports, as they contained melamine which is used to make plastics. This compound is added to make the dairy products look richer in protein. Indonesia and Vietnam are also alert. Because of this milk, over 300,000 were infected only in China, cases also came from America, New Zealand, Australia and many other countries.

India has banned all imports of Chinese products for three months. India protested a lot against the flowing of Chinese mobile handsets in the Indian markets. These handsets don't have International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). This code is required by the security agencies to track mobile phones of terrorists. Many Pakistani terrorists were found to be using such mobile phones. After this strict action by India, China is warning India for a tit-for-tat.

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Chinese String of Pearls Theory

2009-06-04T22:58:00.005+05:30

When the whole world was busy in dealing with Taliban and Al-Qaida, and was working to bring normal conditions back to Pakistan, China was developing its military in an aggressive manner. China hates interference of US and Russia in the region, because it dreams to be a regional power. As India is the only country in the region which maintains friendly relation with both U.S. and Russia, that is why Sino-Indian relations are cold. The major reason why China doesn’t like India is that India gave shelter to the Tibetan peace leader Dalai lama. Tibet was an independent country before 1950 when Chinese attacked and captured the whole land.

To become a regional power, China will have to destabilize India, and for this purpose it maintains good relations with all anti India elements, whether it’s insurgency in North Eastern India, or Pakistan. To make Pakistan capable to equalize India in power, China gave it its nuclear and missile technology. Pakistan is one of the largest user of Chinese military equipment.

Chinese String of Pearls theory talks about surrounding India from all sides and keep an eye on India and America. For this, China is building a railway station for Pakistan on the zero line, that is the international border. According to International laws, no country can build any thing with in the area of 150m from the international border and the area is called as no man’s land. Presence of China so close to Indian western border has unsettled India. (Source: Chinese help for Pakistan railway worries India) China is also building a naval base in Gwadar, from where it can keep an eye on all Indian, European and American vessels passing through the Persian Gulf, and at the time of need it can destroy them in no more than five minutes.

On the other hand, it is building a base in Maldives which is just few thousand KM away form South India, India’s technical hub. China has plans to deploy its nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers there. China is also developing a civil port in Srilanka. How much control will China have on it, no one knows. China is building a naval base in Myanmar's Coco Is. and is establishing a radar facility to monitor Indian Navy's movements and India’s Missile and Space program. India’s missile testing base and India’s space stations are both situated on the eastern coast. China is in talks with Bangladesh also to develop its Chittagong Port.

All these developments have worried India, as Chinese intention is very clear. So far, India is able to establish an airbase in Tajikistan and is also looking forward to build army and air bases in Russia to Surround China. India has good relation with CIS countries, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Bhutan, but needs to give more attention in developing some kind of strategic relation with these countries. Chinese advancement should be controlled to maintain stability in the region.

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Where are India and China going?

2008-08-21T17:49:00.001+05:30

THE two Asian giants. Though they both have an agricultural base, they have come out nicely in Science and technology. China almost has control over the whole market of manufacturing products, and India is on the top of Information technology and software development.

Both countries are nuclear powers and go through an economic race, arm race, space race etc., thought India is a little behind from China.

What if these two countries work together, or form good relations at least? Well, then surely these two countries called as "future super powers", will start ruling the world in present itself.

The major reason of tension between these two countries is the age long border issue.

How China is controlling India?

China has flooded India's market with its cheap quality products which are giving tough competition to local Indian industries, making them unable to grow.

China claims the north east Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and it has also built roads illegally inside Indian territory in North India to Pakistan, (Kashgar-Gilgit-Karachi road). With the help of this road it has actually surrounded the whole of northern Indian border from East to West.

Indian officials have reported many times Chinese army entering illegally inside Indian territory.

(See: Chinese String of pearls theory)

How India can control China?

As of now, India has not taken any steps to control China, as it is aware it is not that powerful. But India is now in position to hit back hard.

India has developed Anti Ballistic missile shield, which is under testing these days, which means it can repulse any nuclear attack on its territory. Indian missiles can hit deep in China.

India has good relations with many countries and can use it to control China. For e.g India has good relations with Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan, Mongolia, Russia, and Central Asian former Soviet Countries. This means even India can surround China not from one side but from all the sides. But India will have to work really very hard to gain permission from these countries to set its bases there, or at least allow it to perform military action from those countries.

India and China are going in the wrong direction, this aggression of development between these two countries has created danger in the Asian region.

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