Bharat Rakshak

India: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P. V. Naik said today that the government is doing much to boost the air force's capability because the strength of the air force is "inadequate," Indian Express reported. Naik said he is unaware of any air incursions from China across the Indian border. He added that India has one-third the number of aircraft that China has, which is why the Indian air force must be strengthened.

Sometime between 2006 and 2007, Indian authorities decided that it was politically correct to identify China as the long term enemy of India. Since 2007, if not earlier, the number of op-ed pieces and statements by retired officials about the threat from China began to equal the reassuring statements by the Foreign Ministry that China poses no threat to India. Of course the official statements have always been nonsense for public consumption.

In the past two years, military officers and a few authoritative civilian officials have been in the forefront of indoctrinating the Indian reading and listening public that China is the future enemy. Today’s statement by Air Chief Marshal Naik cites China as the justification for a stronger Indian Air Force, justifiably so.

Indian memories of the Chinese invasion of India in 1962 are long. Indian strategic thinkers and the whole world are well aware of the revelations of Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan that prove Pakistan would have no nuclear weapons without Chinese assistance.

If any country can block Chinese economic and military imperialism, it must be India, hopefully with US support and partnership. The two great democracies of the world need to keep their strategic vision clear and coordinated. Pakistan is in thrall to China and cannot escape it.

A planned visit by the Dalai Lama to one of Tibetan Buddhism's most sacred temples high in the Himalayas is adding fuel to an already tense military standoff between India and China over disputed border territory.

The temple at Tawang is in the Indian-occupied state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims to own and which has been the scene of threatening military buildups in recent months by both New Delhi and Beijing.

From lowly politicians to high-level policymakers and strategists, all have begun to aim their guns at the Indian media, particularly the electronic media, for sensationalising events and not helping the government deal with sensitive matters in its own quiet way.

A writer, who has more than his share of space in the media, laments: “Chinese military unhappy with Indian media.” Is it such a disaster that the Chinese military is unhappy with something in India, having made India unhappy for decades?

In Kerala, the ruling party is uncomfortable with the media, which is accused of parallel investigations, throwing the impartial police investigations, involving the Home Minister himself, out of gear.

It is alleged that young anchors and reporters know nothing about anything and they put out stories without checking sources and backgrounds and without hearing the other side of the story. The media is the villain, which is allegedly causing internal and external turmoil.

Blaming the media is an ancient pastime, but it was easier when reports in the print media could be denied, except when an odd reporter produced an audio tape. But today statements can be replayed at will, making denial a hard option.

The only escape clause is the attribution of motives. Since the ship of state leaks at the top in diverse directions, the media is advised to exercise restraint. If the top brass cannot keep its mouth shut, the media should be shut out.

The latest attack on the media began with the coverage of the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai. The virtual spectacle of evil was there for all to see, but the blame has been put on the media for giving clues to the terrorists and their minders in Pakistan by covering the developments live.

The charge is that the live telecast helped the terrorists to execute their plans. Kasab and company had no time to watch TV and their minders in Pakistan certainly had other sources to tell them what was happening. In such a masterly operation, care would have been taken to station agents to report events to them.

The answer was not to preach to the media, but to ensure that no one was given access to the sites of attack. Here was a situation where people were camping outside the Taj with food vendors having a field day. How would the media miss such an opportunity to bring the story live to the living rooms?

But the knee-jerk reaction was to criticise the media for being unpatriotic and irresponsible. Even a code of conduct was devised for the media. The code of conduct should have been prescribed for the security authorities to restrict access to the area.

Even more amazing is the lament that the media is exaggerating the Chinese threat to India. There are any number of instances of China encircling India with the specific purpose of countering our development and international profile. Pakistan and Myanmar are nothing but pawns in this Chinese strategy.

The Chinese moves to strengthen its claims in Arunachal and Ladakh militarily and politically are there for all to see. The effort to block ADB assistance to an irrigation project in Arunachal Pradesh marked a new beginning in terms of diplomatic pressure. Reports of Chinese incursions are not manufactured in press rooms, but officially given out by the defence authorities. The comments of the retiring Naval Chief about the Chinese threat were not made in jest. How could the media afford not to take note of these developments and reach the appropriate conclusions? It was the External Affairs Minister, who appeared unrealistic when he tried to play down the Chinese military and diplomatic actions against India.

China is fully aware of the nature of the Indian media and no harm was done by the media playing it up and the minister playing it down. The media has the right to inform the public and it is for the government to give the right assessment at the right time.

An incident involving a cargo plane from the UAE was reported by the media. The plane had landed in Kolkata en route to Beijing and the normal requirement of declaring the cargo was not met. A routine inspection revealed that the cargo was lethal weapons. The media is being faulted for reading too much into this incident, which embarrassed the UAE as well as China.

A friendly country sending arms and ammunition to an unfriendly neighbour through India was not without immense news value. There was nothing wrong in the UAE and China being asked to explain what was clearly a breach of international norms in air transport.

The government itself did not give a credible explanation about the incident except to indicate that the arms were being returned to Beijing after a show in the UAE. The information that the two countries have such cooperation is valuable for India. Blacking out such information from the public was not an option to be exercised by the media.

It is the duty of the media to bring to light aberrations in international relations to enable the government to deal with them appropriately. In fact, the media blitz gives the government a good reason to make our friends and foes answerable to their behaviour. As long as stories are not manufactured, these should be welcomed and investigated. To close the eyes of the media or to restrain it is to let a valuable asset to go unutilised.

How hyperactivity of the media helps in international negotiations was demonstrated during the three years of debate on the India-US nuclear deal. Critics of the government got as much media space as the supporters did and the charges made in the media must have helped our negotiators to secure better terms from their US counterparts.

Recently, one of the virulent critics of the nuclear deal confessed that many of his articles were written in the Atomic Energy Commission to keep the heat on. He had stopped writng about it once he was assured that we had got a good deal.

Our print and electronic media are doing a fabulous job in terms of reporting and analysing events. They make mistakes frequently and even mislead the public. But they are legitimate instruments of opinion making and they should not be restricted in any way.

The state should learn to keep its secrets and also step in if there is misinformation. Let us not lose the asset we have in a vibrant media network on the plea that only balanced and accurate stories should be put out.

The writer is a former Ambassador and a member of the National Security Advisory Board, New Delhi

And, in an indication of how seriously the government is taking the recent scare-mongering, the Union Home Ministry has decided to file an FIR against the two Times of India reporters who filed a story claiming Indian soldiers had been injured in firing by the Chinese.

There is a school of thought that the "sudden rise of India-China tensions" is hype generated from US circles to scare India into closer military ties with Amir Khan.
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There is a school of thought that the "sudden rise of India-China tensions" is hype generated from US circles to scare India into closer military ties with Amir Khan.

Another school that it is a way for desi businesses to deal with increasing Chinese dumping on Indian consumer market - induce boycotts etc.

NDTV debate on the India China border dispute

JNU dumbette has a question at 36:00

Independence of India from Brits was also an internal matter of UK.

^^^
CPI(M) reaction is expected, but that ignorant lady questioned why India "interfered" with Chinese internal issues when china occupied tibet and also implied that is the reason china is transgressing Indian borders.

Now, a threatening email in Chinese is being circulated in India's north-eastern state.....
Three Maps are attached to the mail. One shows all of Arunachal within China, another marks Indian territory and the third marks New Delhi with a message in Chinese - that the People's Liberation Army needs just 2 days to occupy this place.

The reason behind the heightened Chinese incursions has been falsely attributed by many to the on-going strengthening of Indian military capability along the LAC – the deployment of Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets in Tezpur, raising of two additional mountain divisions for the defence of Arunachal Pradesh, the landing of AN-32 transport plane at Daulat Begh Oldhi, the proposed deployment of an AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) plane as ‘force multiplier’ in the Ladakh sector, and the construction of 27 strategic roads along the India-China border. It is being argued that Chinese border intrusions are a reaction to these developments. The reality is, however, quite different. China does not need any of these excuses to transgress the LAC. It has been doing so in the past and will continue to do so in future. The unsettled border and these incursions are nothing but a manifestation of the uneasy relationship which the two countries share. The slow and steady emergence of India as a strong power in Asia is not looked upon favourably by China. And this sentiment also adversely impacts on the attempts to resolve the border dispute amicably.

Intrusions by Chinese troops into Indian territory are signals meant to assert China’s growing political and military stature as well as means to test India’s resolve. Given India’s gradual emergence as a powerful military and economic power in Asia, China is unlikely to be keen on settling the border issue till such time India slumps into a period of weakness. Thus, for the foreseeable future, the India-China border is likely to be characterised by tensions, incursions and skirmishes, interspersed with endless border negotiations. Given this, India needs to be prepared for any eventuality and calibrate its responses to Chinese intrusions.

China has taken what she requires of India i.e. Aksai Chin. It was to secure the KKH and also the atomic test area of Lop Nur. KKH is vital to China in case the Indian Ocean route is disrupted since it is the alternate route for oil transhipped from the Gwadar port (they are building a oil pipeline along the KKH alignment).

Now what to make of this:
E-mail in Chinese threatens war against India



Anyone can send out emails, so wonder if its a hoax.
BTW, how does an email circulate within a geographical location only

I would remind you , that US is the top class player of such game.

A group of students hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, studying at Dehra Dun, has urged an action against China for its misadventures in
the border region, in a memorandum submitted to the Uttarakhand chief minister.

The students of Information Technology Institute for the Tribes of India (ITITI), Dehra Dun, presented a memorandum to chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, demanding creation of an 'Arunachal Battalion', to thwart any mischief from China and defend 'Mother India'.

The students' delegation led by Japken Kena, a Class X student, said, "No youth in Arunachal Pradesh will tolerate any mischief from the expansionist China."

The students said they want to join the Army and show the world that they are and shall always remain Indians.

CM Nishank assured them that their requests would be conveyed to the Prime Minister and the President.

"Till we have such patriotic students, we need not fear any one in the world," Nishank said.

The memorandum said, "We, the students of Arunachal Pradesh, want to express the concern and resolve of all Arunachal people regarding the arrogant, war-mongering interventions of China that claims Arunachal as its territory. We and our parents want to convey to Chinese people and their expansionist government that there is no India without Arunachal and no Arunachal without India. We are first Indians and then anything else."

The students further said, "We, the Arunachalis, are very patriotic people and will shed the last drop of our blood for defending our mighty India. We are cautioning China that it should not flare up tensions and hurt the peaceful people, otherwise it must remember that 2009 is not 1962 and we are well prepared for any eventuality."

They also made a request for setting up a military training facility in ITITI, so that they could join forces after completing education.

What upsets me the most is that this foolish acceptance was under ABV and the BJP in exchange for the Chinese giving up claims on that microscopic piece of land called Sikkim. Which even now they have backtracked on.

Am currently in desh and have talked to a few people which includes friends posted along the China border and some more people who are in the know of things ... Each one of them has told me that this current ruckus about Chinese incursions is mere media hype ...
take it FWIW ...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/28211170-f875-11de-beb8-00144feab49a.html

China’s progress provokes border envy in India

Indians living in border areas neighbouring China are beginning to envy fast-paced development brought by Beijing to the point of regretting being Indian, a senior member of India's ruling Congress party has warned.

Mani Shankar Aiyar, a former senior diplomat and cabinet minister with responsibility for India’s volatile northeast region, described the development that China was bringing to its southwest and Tibet as “simply spectacular”.......

India has deliberately withheld infrastructure development from its border regions to prevent China being able to penetrate deeply into India in case of an invasion across the Himalayas.

The area along Line of Actual Control with China has "shrunk" over a period of time and India has lost "substantial" amount of land in the last two decades, says an official report.

The SDM contended that it was another attempt by the Chinese to claim the territory as disputed in the same fashion as they had taken Nag Tsang area opposite to Phuktse airfield in 1984, Nakung in 1991 and Lungma-Serding in 1992.

but we can't stop states from joining China if they desperately want to.

What is China doing now?

- It moves more and more into Indian territory
- Changes maps, globes etc to show occupied regions as disputed territory.

Pretty soon, it will claim that India is occupying the land illegally!

The Indian media is doing good job here - clearly showing GoI's slumber and inaction

Time for India to join hands with Japan and Vietnam to join hands and take on China together on the land front. This will make them go on the back foot.