INDIA - CHINA RELATIONS

General: Sino-Indian relations have always been of uncertainty and suspicion, though not as volatile as that of Indo-Pak relations. The Chinese government does not let go of any opportunity to pull India down, be it in United Nations, ASEAN, ADB, or elsewhere. Every time India tries for a permanent seat in UNSC, China opposes it with its Veto power. Today, except China, all other members are okay with India having a permanent seat in UNSC.

Politically Anti-Indian Actions: China is meanwhile building its relations with all the countries surrounding India. Pakistan was always its ally, as it was against India. Bangladesh does not have a hard political stand against India, but there are forces within Bangladesh that are pro-Pakistan if not against-India. This helps China get closer to these forces. Sri Lanka has been geographically placed in such a place where it sees an advantage being pro-India. However, during the war against LTTE, when India stopped military aid to Sri Lanka, due to the internal politics in India, China saw an opportunity to get closer to Sri Lanka by offering military aid. Nepal was a pro-Indian country until the Maoists took over. Maoists in Nepal have been of late behaving in a way that is more so anti-India than pro-China, but that is not too far in the future.

Militarily Anti-India Actions: China has also been doing certain things that are not very good for the South-East Asian region. It is well known that the so-called nuclear deterrent of Pakistan is a technology transfer from China. China is also providing Pakistani military with guns and other weapons, even though the military aid from US is still several times more in terms of value. China has also been actively training the militant organizations in the North-East region of India. The Maoist factions in Nepal were also funded and trained by China, maybe not as openly as Pakistan is in Kashmir.

India-China Border Activities: I do not believe that China is in a mood to have an all out war with India, at least not at the moment, when its economy is growing and it would want it that way for some time to come. However, I would also have to mention that its military is leaving no stone unturned to prepare itself for such an eventuality. In the last few years the Chinese military has built roads and permanent structures all along the border regions. This will help China, in the eventuality of a war with India, to mobilize forces and weaponry immediately. India on the other hand has not done any major work on this side of the border. In the past one month, there have been several incursions of Chinese army into India territory and even writing "China" in Mandarin on stones and rock faces.

India needs to safeguard its interests in the region. Even though I do not see a Sino-Indian war in the near future, it is better for India to be safe than sorry. India's preparedness will be the biggest deterrent against a Chinese misadventure.