Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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schinnas
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by schinnas »

The key to working out a relationship with China that is based on mutual respect will need two things.

1. Reduction of gap in terms of economic, infrastructure and military might. For next few decades one can predict that the gap may not be closed fully but can be reduced to a large extent especially in areas where asymmetric power is sufficient to close the gap (ex: Nuclear deterrance, air defence, mountain strike corps, etc).

2. Elimination of leverage China has on India: China has lot more leverage on India rather than the other way. It is imperative to keep Nepal and Bhutan firmly in India's camp and for India to develop extensive road and rail links with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Given the geography, linguistic, ethnic and cultural ties, it is a shame that we have let China develop leverage over SL and Dhaka. The moment road and rail links are established with SL, no amount of Chinese investments can equal the trade SL can have with India. Also it will boost the livelihood of SL Tamils and can mitigate the Tamil resentment against center in India. However, the most important leverage China has on India is their stooge Pakistan and Maoists who keep India's progress down and tied down with internal and external threats. It is imperative to eliminate maoism once and for all. Late Indira Gandhi-ji did commendable work in cutting the wings of Maoists and Pukistan, but they both have continued to survive and even grow. IT is time for Modi-ji to complete the job and help Pakistani people find their destiny under different soverign republics and help Maoists to experience the utopia they seek to establish on earth in heaven.

The moment these leverages can be neutralized, even if there is substantial trade and economic gap, we can sit equally strong at the negotiating table with China. Not otherwise.
vijaykarthik
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by vijaykarthik »

^^ I will also add these:

a. do a bit more of magic work in the SCS too. train Vietnam to do a bit more. They just bought a few Kilo class subs and are currently being trained by the Indian navy too [Yay!]. Asymmetric warfare for a weak country against a strong China, is always a good strategy... and the more India helps and aids in this, the lesser China will be interested in the string of pearls [basically: the more you try to tie me down, the more I try to tie you down in your strategic backyard]
b. Have a real strategic naval plan with Japan and the south china littorals / countries. Modernize and do what it takes to ensure that Indo-Pacific [nee Asia-Pacific] truly is controlled by the Indian navy. If that means we need a more blue water force, go for it.
c. Better participation and deals with Russia?
Last edited by vijaykarthik on 10 Sep 2014 12:13, edited 1 time in total.
Virupaksha
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by Virupaksha »

The issue is 1914 shimla accord is not recognised by China, thus officially chinese recognise absolutely no border with India except for having voluntary withdrawal line both in eastern and western sectors.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Vietnam accuses Chinese sailors of attacking fishermen near disputed islands - Straits Times
Hanoi has accused Chinese sailors of attacking a group of Vietnamese fishermen near a disputed island chain, the latest in a string of maritime spats between the communist neighbours.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said the vessels were fishing in waters around the Paracel Islands - claimed by Vietnam but controlled by China - when they were attacked.

They were stopped by Chinese sailors in speedboats who "prevented them fishing and took away their equipment... some sailors were beaten", the Foreign Ministry said in a Tuesday statement, without giving further details.

Vietnam has demanded China investigate the incident and punish those responsible, ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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More than half of Chinese see war with Japan: Poll - Straits Times
More than half of Chinese people think their country could go to war with Japan in the future after two years of intense diplomatic squabbles, a new poll revealed on Wednesday.

A survey conducted in both nations found that 53.4 per cent of Chinese envisage a future conflict, with more than a fifth of those saying it would happen "within a few years", while 29 per cent of Japanese can see military confrontation.

The findings come ahead of the second anniversary on Thursday of Japan's nationalisation of disputed islands in the East China Sea that have formed the focus of tensions between the Asian giants. Underlining the lingering row over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands, four Chinese coast guard vessels sailed into their territorial waters on Wednesday morning. China regards them as its territory and calls them the Diaoyu Islands.

The survey was conducted by Japanese non-governmental organisation Genron and the China Daily, a Chinese state-run newspaper, in July and August. It questioned 1,000 Japanese aged 18 or older and 1,539 Chinese of the same age range in five cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenyang and Xian.

In the annual opinion poll which started in 2005, 93.0 per cent of Japanese respondents said their impression of China was "unfavourable", worsening from 90.1 per cent last year and the highest level since the survey began.

The percentage of Chinese who have an unfavourable impression of Japan stood at 86.8 per cent, an improvement on 92.8 per cent last year.

"The most common reason for the unfavourable impression of China among the Japanese public was 'China's actions are incompatible with international rules' at 55.1 per cent," Genron and the China Daily said in a joint statement.

That was closely followed by "China's actions to secure resources, energy and food look selfish" at 52.8 per cent. The third most commonly-given reason was "criticism of Japan over historical issues" at 52.2 per cent, while "continuous confrontation over the Senkaku islands" came fourth place at 50.4 per cent, it said.

"On the other hand, 'the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands' (64.0 per cent) and 'historical understanding' (59.6 per cent) were the two prominent reasons for the unfavourable impression of Japan among the Chinese public," it said.


Ties in decline

Despite a huge trade relationship and their deeply interwoven economies, relations between Tokyo and Beijing have seen several periods of deterioration over recent decades. But ties have been particularly bad since late 2012 when Japan nationalised the Senkakus, a move it says was a mere administrative change, but which China says was a provocation.

Beijing regularly insists that Japan has not atoned enough for its imperialist past, and lambasts nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for an "incorrect" understanding of history and what it says is his intention to remilitarise.

For its part, Tokyo accuses Beijing of dwelling on the past for domestic political reasons and says that in the seven decades since World War II, it has apologised repeatedly and trodden a pacifist path.

In an editorial, the China Daily described the poll as "worrying" and said for leaders in both countries "these findings should be concerning".

"There is a need for a meeting between the leaders of both countries to reverse the deteriorating relations," the paper said, but added: "the ball is in Japan's court."

"Abe needs to show Chinese leaders with his actual deeds that he is sincere about improving relations."
{How about Xi & Li doing the same for India, for a change?}
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by Prem »

Doval has One on one meeting with Xi ! Something big cooking?
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Special envoy for border talks with China likely - ToI
India is likely to announce a special representative for border talks with China during the forthcoming visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping. There has been speculation that former foreign secretary Shyam Saran could be tapped for the job. Sources said India is keen to work out a quick border settlement, based on the Guiding Principles signed in 2005.

India will be watching closely when Xi visits Maldives and Sri Lanka before touching down in India. As India renews focus on its neighbourhood, China and Japan, too, have reiterated their interest in South Asia.

In Maldives, where India has an overwhelming presence, China is the only country with a full embassy. More Chinese citizens vacation in Maldives than Indians who are deterred by the costs. Sri Lanka, which has been at the receiving end from India for a while, has just hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and will welcome Xi next week. China has a growing presence in the island nation, building port infrastructure and the famous Hambantota port, believed to be one of the "string of pearls".

China's decision to keep Xi Jinping away from Pakistan is the most significant. Chinese media have given several reasons why Xi has kept Pakistan out of his itinerary. First, China did not want to be a part of the ongoing conflict, particularly if Sharif is ousted. Second, Pakistan is too preoccupied with its internal crisis. Pakistan had offered other cities for Xi's visit but they did not pass muster. Third, China may be reconsidering the $34 billion economic deals planned, especially if the Pakistani government appears to be unstable. The delay in his visit would not affect the quality of the bilateral relationship, which is often described as "all-weather".

Xi's visit to New Delhi will have a strong economic component, but will also send out the message that it does not seek to "encircle" or "contain" India. In remarks to news agencies, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao said the leaders of China and India had pledged to work together to manage and control their differences, adding that they shared common interests as large developing nations. "India is a country with which China has been friendly for thousands of years," Liu told a news briefing. "China has never, and will not, use so-called military or other means to try and hem in India," he added. "There is no strategic competition between China and India in our relationship and there is certainly no such word as 'surround'." {China can say all it wants, but India cannot be deceived a second time. China needs to demonstrate its intentions through actions and not pious words which are cheap especially for the Chinese}
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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How to get even with China - G.Parthasarathi, Business Line
The twenty-first century is often described as “Asia’s century”. This is primarily because of the rapidly growing economies of East and Southeast Asia and the declining rates of economic growth in the US and its European allies.

While the US can no longer unilaterally decide the course of events in Asia, it will remain a key player in moulding the balance of power within Asia.

The actual balance of power within Asia will primarily be determined by the interplay between a rapidly growing, militaristic and jingoist China, an aging, but technologically innovative Japan seeking its legitimate place in the sun, and an India, still uncertain about how best to manage this triangular relationship.

One salient factor is that India and Japan have no territorial or maritime boundary issues which can escalate bilateral tensions. China, however, has adopted policies, on land and maritime boundaries, which could lead to escalating tensions with India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan and the forthcoming visit of President Xi Jinping to India, together with his visits to Pakistan (since postponed) and Sri Lanka, should be seen in the context of these emerging power equations.

It has long been Beijing’s effort to “contain” India within South Asia. Nothing else can explain its policies of equipping Pakistan not merely with tanks, warships and fighter aircraft, but also by promoting the development of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and missile production capabilities.

This has been accompanied by China’s untiring efforts to undermine Indian influence in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

China took note of Modi’s comment in Japan: “Everywhere around us, we see an 18th century expansionist mindset; encroaching on another country, intruding on other’s waters, invading other countries and capturing territory.”

China’s official mouthpiece, the Global Times observed: “Japan is located far away from India. Abe’s harangue on the Indo-Pacific concept makes Indians comfortable. It is South Asia where New Delhi has to make its presence felt. However, China is a neighbour it cannot move away from. Sino-Indian ties can in no way be counter-balanced by the Japan-India friendship.”

Beijing’s message to New Delhi in the article was: ‘You are merely a South Asian power bordering a strong China. We may move, at will, across the Indian Ocean. You should, however, not dare use your relationship with Japan to transgress into the Pacific Ocean — what you and Japan describe as the Indo-Pacific.’

China has no intention of changing its policy of “strategic containment” of India, even if India is useful in promoting its interests in Brics and G20.{This must be internalized}

Economic ties

Modi’s visit to Japan yielded substantial progress in industrial collaboration, with a target of $35 billion FDI in the coming five years, together with a projected increase of Japanese ODI. Defence industry collaboration and joint exercises between the two navies both in the Indian and Pacific Oceans are to be expanded. Japan will play a key role in the development of industrial corridors in India. Indo-Japanese collaboration in the exploration of rare earths will erode the Chinese monopoly in this sector.

We should, however, welcome cooperation in areas such as industry and infrastructure with China, if it can match the terms that Japan is ready to provide in transfer of technology and development of work skills. There is much we can learn from the efficiency of infrastructure project construction in China.

India’s trade deficit with China in 2012 was $39.1 billion. A recent RIS (Research and Information System for Developing Countries) study commissioned by the Reserve Bank of India has noted that such a deficit is “unsustainable”. Rendering this trade deficit “unsustainable” are a series of Chinese non-tariff barriers, not just on pharmaceuticals, but also on items like steel and auto components.

Moreover, India receives discriminatory treatment on registration of its products and faces barriers in services such as banking, insurance, warehousing and freight forwarding. Over 41 products have been identified, which India exports significantly worldwide. But these products are prevented from entering the Chinese market. They include plastics, manmade filaments, electrical and optical machinery and vehicles. The registration of Indian companies in China is exceedingly difficult.

It takes 3-5 years to secure registration in China — a process that normally takes six months in India for Chinese companies.
Some reciprocal measures are called for to deal with such non-tariff barriers, including the imposition of higher duties on equipment like power equipment manufactured in India, both in the private and public sector.
Border impasse

China is no hurry to resolve the border issue. It avoids defining the Line of Control in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Better logistics across the Tibetan Plateau give its armed forces the advantage of easier access to disputed areas.

While contacts between military commanders have been increased, face-offs along the LoC continue. Spelling out the “Guiding Principles” for resolving the border issue, India and China agreed in April 2005 that the Sino-Indian boundary “should be along well defined and easily identifiable natural geographical features to be mutually agreed upon” (Article VI). They also agreed that “The two sides shall safeguard due interests of their settled populations in the border areas” (Article VII).

Going by this Agreement, the border in Arunachal Pradesh should logically be an extension of China’s delineated border with Myanmar. In Ladakh, the Karakoram mountains are the most prominent “identifiable natural geographical features” separating India and China.

Balance of power

While India is strengthening its defences along the Sino-Indian border by raising new strike formations, improving communications and deploying frontline SU 30 squadrons, our negotiators sometimes appear excessively defensive and even apologetic in dealing with their Chinese counterparts.

It is time to change this mindset and join partners such as Vietnam and Japan to build a stable balance of power in Asia.


Given China’s readiness to intimidate its neighbours on its maritime boundary claims, India should, at the very least, supply Brahmos anti-ship cruise missiles to friendly countries in the Indo-Pacific Region such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.

At the same time, cooperation at multilateral fora like G20, the East Asia Summit and Brics can be expanded and bilateral cooperation in areas like infrastructure, industry, communications and energy, pursued vigorously.

The writer is a former High Commissioner to Pakistan
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Border issue will be resolved through equitable solution: China - PTI, ET
Beijing: Ahead of President Xi Jinping's first visit to India next week, China today said the two countries have the "confidence and capability" to resolve the border dispute through an "equitable and reasonable" solution based on dialogue and consultation.

"As for the border issue we are all committed to tranquillity and peace at the border. We will strive for an equitable and reasonable solution based on negotiation and consultation. We have confidence and capability for that," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media here.

She was asked about India's plans to beef up infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control due to concerns over well laid out infrastructure developed by China in Tibet region.

"The two sides have a consensus on maintaining good bilateral relations," she said, avoiding a direct response to the border infrastructure development on the Indian side of the LAC.

Hua recalled National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval's meeting with Xi here on September 9 during which he said Indian government and people are looking forward to the visit.

During his talks with Xi besides other top officials, Doval firmed up the schedule and agenda for the Chinese President's visit.

Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who held talks with Doval, said Xi's visit will be a milestone in India-China bilateral ties as it would lay foundation for the next ten years of development of the relations.

In a commentary on Xi's visit to New Delhi, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said being the two largest developing countries in the world, as well as the world's major emerging economies, India and China have great cooperation potential.

During the visit, Xi and Indian leaders will plan the development of China-India relations and identify priority areas and directions of bilateral cooperation.
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Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Religious Radicalisation in Xinjiang: Is China’s Game-plan to Blame?

The execution of Juma Tahir, the Uighur imam of the Id Kah mosque in Kashgar, the largest in China, earlier last month has raised concerns about the nature of religious extremism in Xinjiang. It comes as no surprise since these imams are mostly handpicked by the Central Chinese authorities and are targeted repeatedly for endorsing state apparatuses. What is China’s game-plan? Will they succeed in effectively curbing the ethno-religious radicalisation in Xinjiang?

The 2000 National Census suggests that of the 10 recognised Muslim Minzu (nationalities) in China, Uighurs constitute around 8 million, amounting to 45.2 per cent of the total Xinjiang population. Most adhere to Sunni Islam; some, mostly of Tajik origin, followers Shia Islam; and some have Sufi influence. According to the state-controlled Islamic Association of China – that coordinates the annual pilgrimages to Mecca – there are 30,000-40,000 mosques with equal numbers of imams in China catering to the religious sentiments of these communities.

A closer look at the structure of this organisation reveals that its primary goal is to bring all the Muslims in China under the ambit of the Central Chinese government. One of the stated missions is to “unify Muslims in participating in the socialist construction of the motherland.” For this purpose, it imparts training to imams and all religious teachers and the state draws upon their assistance as and when required. For instance, both the President Xilalunding Chen Guangyuan and the Vice-President Juma Tahir of the Islamic Association of China declared the Urumqi riots in 2009 as “against the principles of Islam.” Juma Tahir had also been repeatedly urging Uighurs “not to fall into the traps set by exiled separatists.”

This incessant supervision of day-to-day religious practices has led to intermittent clashes in the region over denial of religious freedom. The recent incidents in Kashgar, Yarkand and Urumqi over the past few months are but a mere reflection of this tension. Under the pretext of building harmony between Hans and Uighurs by prohibiting the practice of religion in public spaces, the state has resorted to repressive policies such as banning of headscarves, public religious gatherings, prohibition of Ramadan fasting and has even outlawed residents wearing clothing with the Islamic star and crescent symbol from boarding buses – especially throughout the time of the sports competition held in August 2014 in the north-western city of Karamay.

Besides economic deprivation due to Han-Uighur prejudice, some common grievances of the Uighurs remain: ‘accusations’ of premeditated and terrorist acts by Uyghurs, unverified reports of separatist activities, extrajudicial killing of Uyghur families, mass show-trials aimed at deterring common Uyghurs from joining the terrorist groups, inaccessibility to basic human rights, shutdown of communication networks, the ban on foreign travel especially for religious purposes and the lack of political autonomy for the province.

There have also been reports of creation of fake websites and organisations in the name of Uighur radicals to support repressive policies in Xinjiang. Uighur leaders or dissidents critical of the central government’s policies are coming under the scanner; and are sometimes even arrested or silenced. For instance, Ilham Tohti, an Uighur professor at China’s Minzu University in Beijing was recently detained on his way to the US for criticising China’s Xinjiang policies.

Already the obliteration of old city cultures had been creating tensions in Xinjiang. Now there have been reports that the government has been found abetting Han immigrants with generous government subsidies, including grants for seeds and fertilisers to Han farmers, free farm equipment and other opportunities to defray the costs of farming at the cost of local Uighurs, leading to further escalation of schism with the state. The relative instability of Xinjiang as a border region also makes assimilation difficult. China continues to be wary of radical Islamic influences from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Central Asian countries.

Nonetheless, radicalisation of the Uighur youth is a crucial indicator of the failure of the overall strategies of the Chinese authorities or the Go West Campaign, seeking to assimilate the province through suppressive policies like that of implanting the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) or Bingtuan and the Strike Hard campaigns. New initiatives like the One year crackdown conceived by the new leadership under Xi Jinping also reflect the inability of the state to handle the situation.

Though, previously, some Muslim communities like the Hui’s have been effectively assimilated into the Chinese scaffold due to their lingual adaptation (learning Mandarin) and openness to economic incentives, the presence of large number of female imams and the fact that they are not perceived as presenting a threat to the state have greatly helped. But the Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking communities have not been forthcoming to adapt to Mandarin or the bilingual education system and detest economic and cultural repression by the state. The situation is unlikely to change until an earnest effort is made by the state to accommodate the aspirations of these communities. Else, further radicalisation and reprisal possibly abetted by the Islamic State (Phoenix Weekly) which has vowed to revenge the prohibition of “Muslim Rights” in Xinjiang could pose a real challenge to China.

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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Pranab to visit Vietnam ahead of Xi Jinping's India tour - ToI
India will be expanding its footprint in the hotly contested South China Sea. Vietnam, which has given two gas exploration blocks to Indian company OVL, has offered two more blocks to India. President Pranab Mukherjee, undertaking an important visit to Vietnam from Sunday, will be taking along oil and gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan to sign the important deal.

Its not yet clear whether the new blocks fall within China's 'Nine-dash line'. Briefing journalists, Anil Wadhwa, secretary (east) in the foreign ministry, said, "OVL and Petro Vietnam will sign a letter of intent in Hanoi next week. The feasibility study for the blocks is on. OVL has also invited Petro Vietnam to invest in exploration off the Indian coast."

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to spend his birthday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, the political message behind Mukherjee's Vietnam visit will not be lost on anyone. Mukherjee's state visit is aimed at sealing political and cultural ties, including gifting a sapling of the Bodhi tree, but the primary purpose is to place India's strategic support for Vietnam. Earlier this year, Vietnam extended the lease for India on two blocks in the South China Sea that had expired.

The oil blocks, Nos 127 and 128, were deemed to have little commercial value because OVL had concluded there was little prospect of striking oil in that area. After India gave up the blocks in 2012, Vietnam persuaded India to stay on to explore further. That lease expired this year and has just been renewed.

India clearly remains there because it believes it has strategic interests in the South China Sea. India maintains the importance of free lanes of navigation and access to resources. It also gives India a very good reason to keep a naval presence there. Indian naval vessels run goodwill visits in all the countries affected by China's expansionist foreign policy.

Chinese assertiveness in South China Sea sharpened in May when it sent its mobile oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 to Vietnam waters for alleged oil exploration, despite Vietnamese protests. Although the Chinese withdrew on July 15, it stamped its hegemonic presence there, asserting its right to move at will. More recently, China announced it will build lighthouses on five islands in South China Sea, of which two islands are in waters claimed by Vietnam. This was announced in reaction to a possible move by Asean countries to freeze all activity. China showed it would build whatever, wherever on the East Sea. According to Beijing's maps, China claims almost 90% of the East Sea.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/busi ... 386772.cms
China to invest $100 billion in India over 5 years

MUMBAI: Chinese president Xi Jinping will bring along with him $100 billion or Rs 6 lakh crore of investment commitments over five years during his upcoming India visit next week. This is nearly thrice the $35 billion secured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Japan trip.

Jinping will land in Modi's home state Gujarat on September 17 — the Prime Minister's birthday — following his visit of Tajikistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Confirming this, Liu Youfa, China's consul-general in Mumbai, told TOI, "On a conservative estimate, I can say that we will commit investments of over $100 billion or thrice the investments committed by Japan during our President Xi Jinping's visit next week. These will be made in setting up of industrial parks, modernization of railways, highways, ports, power generation, distribution and transmission, automobiles, manufacturing, food processing and textile industries."


The consul-general's statements coincide with Modi's call for world class infrastructure projects after his review of major infrastructure sectors on Friday. The government also announced new projects worth Rs 9 lakh crore in energy, power, and roads.

China will initially invest $7 billion in industrial parks in Pune and Gandhinagar. "The Pune industrial park — spread across 5 square kilometres with an investment of $5 billion — will be for automobiles that will employ one lakh people and manufacture 1.5 lakh speciality vehicles. The Gujarat industrial park will be for manufacturing power equipment. China is also working on setting up an industrial park in Tamil Nadu for the textile sector and another one for the food processing sector," said Liu.

Chinese investments in industrial parks are just the tip of the iceberg as Chinese firms are eyeing over $50 billion worth of investments in modernization of the Indian railways and running bullet and hi-speed trains in India. Modi on Friday said that the railways have been granted clearance for 100% FDI, and therefore it should come up with a comprehensive plan for facilitating FDI in the sector.

"The first bullet train project was given to Japan, which was a government decision. We are optimistic of building India's next bullet train in India. Besides bullet trains, we want to connect the cities with high-speed trains with speed of 160 km/hr. We will also look at modernization projects of Indian Railways across the country," said Liu.

China is willing to invest another $50 billion in roads, ports and the NDA government's ambitious river-linking plan. "India has over 600 reservoirs that need dredging work to provide better irrigation systems for the farmers. We are looking to work on that. Besides, our major thrust will be on construction of roads and ports," said Liu.

On Friday, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced the launch of new roads and highways projects this year worth Rs 2 lakh crore.

Power minister Piyush Goyal said that $100 billion of investments are likely to flow into India's renewable sector in the next four years. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while meeting Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said that Odisha alone will receive about Rs 1 lakh crore worth of investment in the next five years in petrochemicals, oil & gas pipelines, LNG & LPG terminals, and strategic oil reserves to make it the 'energy gateway for eastern India.

The Chinese president is coming with a delegation of over 100 business heads, including those from China Harbour, China Railway Construction Group and Huawei, among others, and will address a business gathering of over 400 Indian CEOs in Delhi. The big four Chinese banks — Bank of China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank and the Agriculture Bank of China — are also coming with the delegation to give billions of dollars in loans to Indian infrastructure projects to be done in joint venture with Chinese firms.

"All major JV projects will be funded by Chinese banks. Major corporate houses like Tatas, Infosys, Reliance and Essar have already taken loans from these banks and the funding will only increase," said Liu.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/52365-mr ... m=facebook

MR backs China's Maritime Silk Road project
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping's initiative of 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, saying the economic corridor bears significance to the island nation's development.

The Sri Lankan president said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the President Palace that his country will join China's efforts in the Silk Road trade cooperation.

Rajapaksa said Xi's scheduled visit in Sri Lanka, which would be the first of Chinese president over the past 28 years, is " important" for the development of the bilateral ties.

He said the two nations have a history of friendly relations and the friendship was ushered into a new era since the two sides upgraded their ties to strategic cooperative partnership in May last year.

"Since I took office of the president, I have toured China for seven times, during which I have met President Xi Jinping in several occasions," Rajapaksa said.

"China accounts for the biggest number of my working travel destination and I am looking forward to President Xi's visit."

Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka wishes to boost cooperation with China in trade and investment, which harmonizes with the framework of the 21st Century Silk Road.

The two nations, since Sri Lanka ended the decade-long conflict in 2009, have effectively cooperated in re-construction and other sectors, said the president.

Chinese enterprises have been carrying out a number of infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka and the president praised the establishment as having positive impact on his country's social stability and prosperity.

On the planned Free Trade Agreement (FTA) dialogue, Rajapaksa said, "Our cooperation covers many sectors including industry, energy, technology, infrastructure and tourism."

He said the FTA will boost the trade and investment ties as well as Sri Lanka's export to China, creating new momentum for the island nation's development.

The president said his country welcomes more Chinese visitors to tour Sri Lanka.

China is Sri Lanka's third largest source of tourists.

The number of Chinese visitors in Sri Lanka stood at 82,000 in the first eight months of the year, seeing a year-on-year rise of 141 percent.

The figure is predicted to surpass 100,000 at the end of this year.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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China’s Silk Road to counter Washington’s FTA move - Atul Aneja, The Hindu
China’s drive to deepen linkages among the littoral states in South and South East Asia through a revival of the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) project, has deeper geopolitical resonance as it follows the U.S.-led Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) initiative, which seeks to forge a regional free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region. The 12 participating countries in the TPP include Washington’s major allies such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand, apart from Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

Observers point out that Beijing is interpreting the U.S. Pivot to Asia — a doctrinal shift of concentrating additional forces and equipment in the Asia-Pacific, that runs parallel to the TPP -- as part of a “China containment” strategy steered by Washington and its allies.

The MSR is part of a string of Silk Road initiatives that the Chinese are undertaking that includes the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor, which aspires to establish economic linkages between South and Southeast Asia. Analysts point out that the recently established BRICS Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank could be roped in to fund projects within the Silk Road framework. Officials in the Fujian province say that China will support funding for the development of marine industry, including ship building, logistical infrastructure and industrial parks in countries that participate in the MSR initiative.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Ok, test for Modi -

Chinese soldiers intrude 500 meters into Ladakh, put up tents on Indian soil

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/ch ... 69537.html
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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The Chinese and Pakis know they can test Modi now after UPA defanged India for 10 years, 3-4 years down the line and if anther NDA govt come to power in 2019, it will not be possible to provoke India without consequences. We need to bide our time and not be like Nehru , neglecting defence for 15 years and then doing a forward policy.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Agnimitra wrote:Ok, test for Modi -

Chinese soldiers intrude 500 meters into Ladakh, put up tents on Indian soil

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/ch ... 69537.html
They intruded just before Li Keqiang came here. We now have this just ahead of Xi Jinping. Though intrusion is a regular affair, it is especially so before an important meeting. They test the resolve of our leaders, commanders all the time. They also convey a message that they are more powerful than us and are not much bothered about demands of diplomacy or etiqutte etc. Tey also possibly want to occupy as much land as possible before a resolution for which too they are unhurried as they feel that time is on their side. This is especially so after Xi's ascent to power. He is not only the General Secretary of the CPC but also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. So, it is inconceivable that these things at the border are happening without his knowledge or there is some sort of disconnect between him and the PLA.

Xi Jinping's other actions have also shown us his aggressive character. While Chinese leaders, since Mao Zedong, have always played down the significance of nuclear weapons, Xi Jiping, contrarily, spoke of nuclear weapons creating a ‘strategic space’ for China propelling it towards a ’great power status’. This was a significant omission of NFU when he gave his first major speech to the PLA after assuming power. Later, the annual Chinese white paper on defence, released in April 2013, also omitted the NFU principle, again for the first time since c. 1964 when the first such paper was released. China later explained away unconvincingly the omission in the 2013 white paper as due to a change in the structure of the paper.

Last time, Salman Kurshid flew to Beijing to salvage the visit of li Keqiang. We cannot repeat this unworthy exercise anymore. Xi must be told very plainly what India feels.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Xi visit: IB alerts Gujarat police on Tibetan protests - The Hindu
The Intelligence Bureau has alerted the Gujarat police to the possibility of protests by Tibetans during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping here on September 17.

“We are wary of any possible demonstrations by the Tibetan people in Gujarat or those coming into the State. There is a small Tibetan community in Vadodara. A group in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, has been active is such protests. The IB has given the names of a few people from a group of Tibetan refugees. Diplomatic and State visits from China are usually marked by protests,” Arun Kumar Sharma, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), told The Hindu .

Active surveillance and intelligence gathering have already begun, as the visit is a security nightmare not only owing to the visit of Mr. Xi but also because of the high threat perception for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will accompany Mr. Xi.

The programme at the one-kilometre stretch of the Sabarmati riverfront poses a challenge to security agencies due to its open landscape.

From Saturday, the police began patrolling the riverside, Mr. Sharma said.

Mr. Xi’s inner security ring will comprise of nearly 15 Chinese personnel, some of whom will be armed, as per the protocol.

The Gujarat police will deploy over 4,000 personnel, including senior police officers, on the day of the visit. As per official figures, 12 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 31 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 83 police inspectors, 252 sub-inspectors and 3,450 personnel from the constabulary will be part of the total strength of police deployment in the city and key locations. Superintendents of Police posted in other States, who have served in Gujarat have also been called.

Hotel Hyatt, where Mr. Xi will be hosted, has its own CCTV cameras to monitor the movement of people.

In addition, the police have deployed mobile vehicles fitted with CCTV cameras to keep a watch on places and people.

Police personnel will also take position on the rooftops of high-rises.

Verification of residents living in the vicinity of the locations earmarked for Mr. Xi’s visit has been undertaken.

The police have chartered three routes from the airport to the hotel, Gandhi Ashram and the riverfront.

The specific route taken by the dignitaries would be a last-minute decision.

Folk dance

Mr. Xi’s visit is set to be high on the cultural quotient rather than diplomacy.

A cultural programme at the riverfront will showcase Gujarat folk dances, like the ‘Garba’ and ‘Raas’ from Saurashtra.
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Modi’s bonding with Japan will spur Chinese interest in India - KR Srivats, Business Line
By warming up to Japan to meet India’s infrastructure needs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have put several Western politicians — who shunned him post 2002 Gujarat riots — on notice.

However, Modi’s strong engagement with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month is expected to propel the Chinese to further expand its economic ties with India.

The emergence of Asian axis could impact the US influence on moulding the balance of power within Asia, say economy watchers.

China now sees the Indo-Japanese industrial collaboration as more “strategic”.

Modi’s coziness with Japanese leader Abe has clearly led to some eye-catching deals this month — assurance of $35 billion Japanese foreign direct investment into India over next five years, more Japanese soft loans besides collaboration in defence industry and rare earth exploration.

Japan will also play a strong role in the development of industrial corridors and may nudge its automakers and electronics companies to expand their Indian operations.

Japan, formerly a big donor for China, now counts India as its largest aid recipient.

Modi’s visit to Japan has certainly put India on a strong diplomatic wicket, raising its bargaining power with China (during the forthcoming visit of President Xi Jinping to India) and also the US (when Modi embarks on an official visit this month-end).

China is now clearly looking to match the investments promised by Japan into India.

After dilly-dallying for a long time, China has suddenly started walking the talk on its intention of pumping money into India. A team of Chinese officials has already identified two locations — one in Gujarat and the other in Maharashtra — to set up industrial parks with Chinese investments.

The country is also set to pledge its investments into railway infrastructure. Related MoUs will be signed during the Chinese President’s visit this week. China is already a large lender when it came to commercial loans, especially for the power sector.

India’s power sector has had the largest share of Chinese loans.

Look beyond Japan: UK

The United Kingdom, which is seeing the changing dynamics amongst the Asian biggies, does not seem all that happy with the growing India-Japanese collaboration on the industrial front.

UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, in a meeting with representatives of think tanks and the Indian industry, during his recent India visit, indicated that India needed to think beyond Japan when inviting foreign investments.

“Since all countries are not able to invest by giving soft loans like Japan, the UK wants India to keep in mind the terms and conditions under which other countries can invest,” said a person who attended the meeting.
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http://sikhsiyasat.net/2014/09/15/chine ... a-reports/
Chinese soldiers surround Indian Soldiers in Chumur area in Ladhakh, media reports
September 15, 2014 | By Parmjeet Singh

Ladakh: Around Chinese 300 soldiers have reportedly surrounded some 100 soldiers of India in Chumur area in Ladakh. As per media reports Indian soldiers are not being allowed to move.

The latest incident follows yesterday’s incident where Chinese troops were reportedly seen camping 500 metres into the territory under Indian control in Demchok area of Ladakh. The Chinese soldiers had reportedly put up tents there.

“What makes the matter more serious is the fact that the face-off is happening well inside the Indian territory”, a Zee News report reads.

“As regards the Demchok incident, reports said some 30 Chinese soldiers have intruded 500 metres into Demchok area and put up tents there since September 11”.

To confront the Chinese troops, around 70 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel have been deployed in the area.

As per media reports, both the countries have sent more soldiers to the face-off site at Demchok.

Last month, Chinese troops had reportedly entered almost 25 kilometres into Indian controlled area at Burtse in Ladakh.

In 2014 alone, 334 incidents of Chinese troops’ intrusion into Indian border have been reported.

The incidents come just days ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India.

Both countries have long pending differences on demarcation of boundaries.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Chinese capital is running out of space to earn returns. I worry about Modi's enthusiasm for investment from China. At the same time China knows that India is not an African colony that they can overrun either. Not feeling very good about China money in India.
How can we do business with a country that is sitting on a large chunk of our territory and has along with Unkil nuclear armed the pukes?
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Govt. plays down incursions in J&K - The Hindu
Keen to avoid a diplomatic incident two days ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival in India, the government played down allegations of incursions by Chinese soldiers and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Chumar and Demchok sectors of Ladakh.

Refusing to confirm the reports, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, “All I will say is our brave sentinels at the border will address any issues there are.” He also denied reports that the Defence Ministry had asked the External Affairs Ministry to take up the alleged incursions diplomatically.

Earlier in the day, an official in Leh complained that Chinese civilians had entered India and opposed construction work of a bund under the MGNREGA scheme. On earlier occasions, Chinese soldiers have opposed projects along the line of actual control but this time, Divisional Commissioner S. Singh told news agency ANI, that “Chinese civilians have also come to oppose work and are showing banners.”

Last month, similar reports of incursions were denied by Army chief General Dalbir Singh.

The government is preparing for what it calls a “once in a decade” event when the Chinese President lands in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. This is only the third visit by a Chinese President after Jiang Zemin in 1996 and Hu Jintao in 2006.

During the visit, sources told The Hindu , that MoUs will be signed between India and China in more than 20 different fields and agreements that would total more than $100 billion, with $50 billion and $20 billion being committed by China for the industrial parks near Pune and Gandhinagar alone.

Both sides will discuss the possibility of a civil nuclear cooperation agreement, which would enable China to sell reactors to India during the visit. “Given the challenges of both countries in terms of their enormous appetite for energy, it is normal if nuclear issues would be part of their possible discussions,” the official spokesperson said.
There is still time. We should intrude into Chinese territory before Xi starts his journey. The Modi government is giving all indications that its approach is the same as INC's.
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India, Vietnam for access to South China Sea - Puja Mehra, The Hindu
Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jingping’s visit to India, India and Vietnam have called for freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.

In a joint communique issued after President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a four-day State visit to Vietnam, held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang here, the two countries said the freedom of navigation in the East Sea/South China Sea should not be impeded. Without naming any country, they called on all parties concerned to exercise restraint, avoid threat or use of force and resolve disputes through peaceful means.

The two sides called for collective commitment of the parties concerned to abide by and implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and to work towards the adoption of a Code of Conduct on the basis of consensus.


On Monday, India and Vietnam signed seven agreements, including one for enhanced cooperation in the oil sector.

ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Vietnam Oil signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for jointly exploring two more blocks, officials told the press.

Direct air services

The two countries also signed an MoU on operating and jointly promoting direct air services under which Vietnam Airlines and India’s Jet Airways will operate flights. They also agreed to undertake a focussed cooperation in defence related procurement.

Both countries decided to strengthen bilateral cooperation with a focus on political, defence and security cooperation, economic cooperation, science and technology, culture and people-to-people links, technical cooperation and multilateral and regional cooperation.

“They called for cooperation in ensuring security of sea lanes, maritime security, combating piracy and conducting search and rescue operations,” the joint communique said.


The signed pacts include EXIM Bank of India’s extension of a dollar credit line to Vietnam, agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters, MoU on animal health and an MoU on setting up of pangasius (basa fish) farming in India.
On the issue of Code of Conduct, China is never going to agree to one. In the Asian Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in Hanoi in July, 2010 where the US Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton said that the US “stood ready to facilitate talks on implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC), the agreement drawn up by ASEAN in China in 2002 to manage the dispute”. She also said that freedom of navigation in South China Sea was of vital interest to the US and it abhorred the use of force to settle the issue, a direct reference to the Chinese aggression. This prompted the Chinese delegation to storm out of the meeting. In the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting at Phnom Penh in early July 2012, the ASEAN asked China to evolve a code of conduct to defuse tensions in South China Sea. An incensed China reacted by saying that the ASEAN, en bloc, cannot demand such a code as the dispute involved individual member countries of ASEAN and China and therefore should be treated bilaterally. Later, in August 2012, the US said that China should not use bilateral talks to attempt to "divide and conquer" South China Sea claimant nations. For her part, the US Secretary of State Ms. Hillary Clinton said at Phnom Penh that the US would “look to ASEAN to make rapid progress with China toward an effective code of conduct in order to ensure that as challenges arise they are managed and resolved peacefully through a consensual process in accordance with established principles of international law”. However, for the first time in its 45-year history, ASEAN failed to issue at communique at an annual meeting of its 10 foreign ministers at Phnom Penh when host Cambodia, viewed as pro-Beijing, rejected a proposal by the Philippines and Vietnam to mention their separate territorial disputes with China in the statement.
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China wants Maldives to join Maritime Silk Road project - Atul Aneja, The Hindu
China has invited the Maldives to actively participate in the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) project — an initiative to string together partnerships with countries in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean, including India — in the wake of the decision by the United States to bolster its military capability in the region.

Visiting President Xi Jinping prefaced his visit — the first by a Chinese President — by welcoming Male’s intent to get “actively involved in the 21st century Silk Road initiative.” President Xi first referred to the proposal last year, during a visit to Indonesia, a pivotal state close to trans-continental shipping lanes, criss-crossing the Malacca and Lombok Straits. Chinese officials say that the MSR symbolises the continuity of their maritime traditions, which were amplified by the voyages to the Asia-Pacific, South Asia, West Asia and East Africa by the famous 15th century Chinese mariner, Zheng He.

Indian sensitivities

But aware of Indian sensitivities about China’s growing maritime prominence in the Indian Ocean, officials in Beijing have stressed that their country is not pursuing an India containment policy.

China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao told resident journalists last Tuesday that China “has never, and will not, use so-called military or other means to try and hem in India.”

“There is no strategic competition between China and India in our relationship and there is certainly no such word as ‘surround’,” he observed.

Xinhua quoted Ye Hailin of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences that Maldives was “a key link of the Maritime Silk Road,” and China planned to utilise its ports. Analysts pointed out that the newly formed BRICS bank and Asian Development and Investment Bank (ADIB), could be involved in funding maritime infrastructure, including ports and investment parks , as well as energy and Information Technology hubs in countries belonging to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and South Asia, under the MSR initiative.

In a signed article that was widely published in the local media in the Maldives, Mr. Xi said, he hoped to “map out the blueprint” of the relationship with Male during talks with his Maldivian counterpart, Abdulla Yameen.

Chinese tourists have begun to flood Maldives, but their presence is also fuelling anxieties, apparently on account of the growing jihadi influence in the idyllic archipelago. In an interview with The Independent , the former President Mohamed Nasheed claimed that up to 200 Maldivians were fighting for Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria — a disproportionately high figure in a country of 330,000. Maldives is also on the frontline of the global warming debate, and President Xi has offered to work together with Male on climate change.
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Sri Lanka to sign FTA with China - Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu
Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive here on Tuesday, on a significant visit to the island nation, during which Beijing and Colombo are expected to firm up a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Sri Lanka will also join China’s efforts in the 21st Silk Road trade cooperation, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Xinhua in a recent interview.

During his visit, Mr. Xi will visit the site of a $1.4-billion port city development project, Beijing’s latest investment in Sri Lanka, adjoining Colombo’s commercial port, which is also funded by China. His visit to Sri Lanka — the first by a Chinese President in nearly three decades — has evoked much interest, with Sri Lanka and China set to sign 20 major agreements, including the FTA. As many as 21 agreements worth $1.6 billion in loans are also to be signed during Mr. Xi’s visit, Export and Import (Exim) Bank of China announced recently.

While the Chinese President is likely to sign nearly as many agreements in India, where he will arrive on Wednesday, foreign policy analysts are closely watching the emerging dynamics among India, Sri Lanka and China, particularly after Mr. Modi assumed charge in May. Analysts often refer to Sri Lanka playing the ‘China card’ against India.

Increased investment

Since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, China has been heavily investing in infrastructure, including ports, expressways, an airport and a power plant amounting to $4 billion, according to Chinese state media reports.

“Since I took office, I have toured China seven times, during which I have met President Xi Jinping on several occasions,” President Rajapaksa told Xinhua.
On the proposed FTA, he said Sri Lanka and China would cooperate in several spheres. While Sri Lanka and India have an FTA since 2000, India has been negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with its neighbour.

China has been a vocal supporter of Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council, backing the island by voting against a U.S.-sponsored resolution calling for an international probe into Colombo’s rights record. Some sections have been voicing concern over Sri Lanka’s reliance on China. The widely read Sunday Times here, in its editorial this week, noted that Sri Lanka’s outstanding debt to China, in disbursed loans, was nearly Rs. 196 billion at the end of December 2013.
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Article re-affirming the "Green Paint" Syndrome in Pakistani Army.
http://blogs.reuters.com/india-expertzo ... odi-talks/
But the more nettlesome issue that lies at the core of the current anxiety and suspicion in India about China’s true intent is the opaque Sino-Pakistan nuclear weapon and missile cooperation. Shrouded in secrecy, this WMD (weapons of mass destruction) cooperation goes back to the late 1980’s and most domain experts are familiar with the empirical facts of the issue.

For reasons best known to Beijing at the time, China decided to enable the Pakistan military to acquire nuclear weapon capability and missiles to deliver them. Consequently, Pakistan carried out a secret nuclear weapon test in May 1990 and the strategic reality was that India was ‘hemmed’. For a few years, India was in an asymmetrical WMD position in relation to both its neighbours and finally took the decision to demonstrate its own nuclear weapon capability in May 1998.
For years, Beijing and its interlocutors refused to enter into any dialogue on this subject and steadfastly obfuscated the reality. Tenacious amnesia is the leitmotif. However warm the Xi-Modi handshake and embrace this week, unless this core issue is satisfactorily addressed – the vast potential being enthusiastically anticipated for Sino-Indian relations to bloom under two new and pragmatic leaders will, alas, be short-lived.
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India tightens Vietnam defence, oil ties ahead of China's Xi Jinping's visit - Reuters, ToI
India extended a $100 million export credit to Vietnam for defence deals . . . {This pi$$es me off. Why didn't any Indian correspondent or news group mention this credit line? Do we have to learn about India from foreign agencies?}
During a visit to Vietnam by President Pranab Mukherjee, the two countries said in a joint statement that the credit line would open new opportunities for defence cooperation and that details of what Vietnam would buy were being finalised.
The money may help slow-moving talks to sell Brahmos cruise missiles to Hanoi. Vietnam is building a naval deterrent to China with Kilo class submarines from Russia and it would like to add India's missile technology to its defences.
Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam's military at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, said he believed Vietnam was seeking India's ship attack variants of the missile.

Indian tests showed the supersonic cruise missile could be successfully fired from ships, which matched Hanoi's goal of creating a meaningful deterrent against China.

"This is leading-edge technology that would further complicate the ability of the Chinese navy to operate off the Vietnamese coast with impunity, particularly in the south of the South China Sea," Thayer said.

"The Vietnamese do not want to be in a situation where they wake up one morning and discover the Chinese navy has surrounded one of its bases in the Spratlys," he said, referring to a disputed island chain.{China could put pressure on Russia to stop India from selling BrahMos to Vietnam. In the circumstances where Russia and China have once again come closer, this is a real possibility}
The timing of Mukherjee's visit to Vietnam may not have been planned to coincide with Xi's South Asia tour, but it underlined India's new twin track diplomacy, foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan wrote in a newspaper on Monday.

"Much like China, which does not limit its strategic relationship with Pakistan because of Indian concerns, the Modi government apparently believes it can build a partnership with Vietnam on its own merits without worrying too much about what Beijing might think," Mohan said.
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Towards an Asian Century of Prosperity - Xi Jinping, Business Line
My first visit to this ancient and magic land was 17 years ago, a time when the Indian economy was undergoing reform and beginning to show new growth vitality. Markets were booming in Mumbai, the economic centre. Bangalore was becoming increasingly famous as India’s Silicon Valley. And Bollywood movies and yoga were popular throughout the world. Its people were full of expectations and the ancient civilisation was rejuvenated.

Now 17 years later, I am about to once again visit India, an enchanting and beautiful land that has captured world attention. India is an emerging economy and a big developing country. It is Asia’s third largest economy and the world’s second largest exporter of software and agriculture products.

A member of the UN, the G20, the Brics and other organisations, India is playing an increasingly important role in the regional and international arena. The “Story of India” is spread far and wide. With the new government coming into office, a new wave of reform and development has been sweeping across India, greatly boosting the confidence of the Indian people and attracting keen international interest in its opportunities.

Improved ties

Relations between China and India have made significant progress in the new century. The strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity has been established. China has become India’s largest trading partner, with their bilateral trade volume increasing from less than $3 billion early this century to nearly $70 billion. Mutual visits reached 8,20,000 last year. We have had close coordination and cooperation on climate change, food security, energy security and other global issues and upheld the common interests of our two countries as well as the developing world as a whole. Progress has been made in the negotiations on the boundary question, and the two sides have worked together to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border area. China-India relations have become one of the most dynamic and promising bilateral relations in the 21st century.

Our bilateral relations have reached where they are today as a result of the following efforts: we have deepened mutual trust by strengthening strategic dialogue and enhancing political confidence; we have brought more benefits to each other by expanding the areas of cooperation and making the pie of common interests bigger; we have forged a closer friendship by encouraging more people-to-people exchanges and cementing popular support for our bilateral relations; and we have treated each other with sincerity by respecting and accommodating each other’s concerns and properly managing problems and differences.

In reform mode

Both China and India are now in a crucial stage of reform and development. The Chinese people are committed to realising the Chinese dream of great national renewal. We are deepening reform in all sectors. The goal has been set to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernisation of national governance system and capability. A total of over 330 major reform measures covering 15 areas have been announced and their implementation is well underway.

Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the new Indian government has identified ten priority areas including providing a clean and efficient administration and improving infrastructure. It is committed to building a united, strong and modern India — Shreshtha Bharat. The Indian people are endeavouring to achieve their development targets for the new era. China and India are both faced with historic opportunities, and our respective dreams of national renewal are very much aligned with each other.

Co-opting dreams

We need to connect our development strategies more closely and jointly pursue our common dream of national strength and prosperity. As emerging markets each with its own strengths, we need to become closer development partners who draw upon each other’s strengths and work together for common development. With rich experience in infrastructure building and manufacturing, China is ready to contribute to India’s development in these areas. India is advanced in IT and pharmaceutical industries, and Indian companies are welcome to seek business opportunities in the Chinese market.{Hot gas} The combination of the “world’s factory” and the “world’s back-office” will produce the most competitive production base and the most attractive consumer market.

As the two engines of the Asian economy, we need to become cooperation partners spearheading growth. I believe that the combination of China’s energy plus India’s wisdom will release massive potential. We need to jointly develop the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) Economic Corridor, discuss the initiatives of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and lead the sustainable growth of the Asian economy. As two important forces in a world that moves towards multi-polarity, we need to become global partners having strategic coordination. According to Prime Minister Modi, China and India are “two bodies, one spirit”. I appreciate this comment.

Despite their distinctive features, the “Chinese Dragon” and the “Indian Elephant” both cherish peace, equity and justice. We need to work together to carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (the Pancha Sheela), make the international order more fair and reasonable, and improve the mechanism and rules of international governance, so as to make them better respond to the trend of the times and meet the common needs of the international community. As Mr Deng Xiaoping puts it, no genuine Asian century would come without the development of China, India and other developing countries. We are ready to shoulder this mission of our times and work actively to enhance friendship between China and India.

I look forward to an in-depth exchange of views with Indian leaders on our bilateral relations during the visit, and to injecting new vitality to our strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity. I am confident that as long as China and India work together, the Asian century of prosperity and renewal will surely arrive at an early date!

This article by the President of the People’s Republic of China is exclusive to BusinessLine and The Hindu
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Xi visit to set a new mark in India-China ties - Amiti Sen, Business Line

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India, starting Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi summarised the possibilities of bilateral ties between the two countries in inches and miles — that is, “Inch (India and China) towards Miles (Millennium of Exceptional Synergy).”

“Every inch we cover can rewrite history of humanity and every mile we cross will go a long way in making this planet a better place,” he said.

Coming on the heels of Modi’s successful trip to Japan, Xi is bearing for Modi a $100-billion gift pack covering investments in a gamut of areas, including bullet trains, industrial parks, twin-city projects, and highway construction — to outdo the Japanese investment offer of $35 billion.

Bridging the trade gap

China agreeing to import buffalo meat, oilmeal, and tobacco has raised India’s hopes of narrowing its trade deficit of $36 billion with China – which is about one-fourth of its total trade gap.{The gap will only widen. China is not a fair player anywhere in the world and more so with India} The Government is expecting more market access and increased investments as Beijing’s bid to bridge the deficit gap.

According to Bloomberg, China’s total investment in India between 2000 and 2014 has been around $400 million; the annual figure has been declining – from $88 million in 2008 to $27 million in 2013. By comparison, China invested $14 billion in the US that same year.

One reason for the trade gap with India is that much of China’s exports to India are manufactured goods while most of India’s exports to China are primary goods such as iron ore and minerals. The Commerce Ministry believes that India can export buffalo meat worth $1 billion annually to begin with, and this can be increased subsequently.

“China has a huge demand for meat and we are the world’s largest suppliers. We have convinced them that our quality standards are high and meet the stringent requirements of the developed world as well,” a Government official told BusinessLine.

China was earlier importing oilmeal and tobacco from India but had stopped some years back citing some quality problems. The matter has been sorted out now.

Breaking the usual protocol, Xi will land not in New Delhi but in Ahmedabad, and sign an industrial park MoU. Gujarat will also initial a couple of other pacts with the Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guangzhou.

But more than the basket of goodies, New Delhi will be anxious for clarity on a host of other issues that have kept relations prickly.

Chiefly, these include the unending border dispute and regular incursions into Indian territory by the People’s Liberation Army, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, the river water disputes, the stapled visa issue, and China’s expanding influence in the Indian Ocean.

For the two leaders, finding an amicable solution to these issues will be the key to stronger economic and strategic ties.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by Shankk »

India-Vietnam offshore oil-exploration agreement faces China wall
On the eve of President Xi Jinping's trip to India, China on Tuesday suggested it would take a dim view of an India-Vietnam agreement if it were to include ONGC's exploration of oil wells within the waters of the disputed South China Sea.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China wouldn't object to any "legitimate and lawful" agreement between Vietnam and a third country. However, Hong added, "If such agreement concerns waters administered by China or if such cooperation project is not approved by the Chinese government, then we will be concerned about such an agreement and we will not support it."
Chinese government sources said Beijing is prepared to severely oppose India's "newfound enthusiasm" for Vietnam after defence deals with another rival, Japan. It has earlier opposed India's oil exploration efforts along with a Vietnamese company in the area.

While it isn't clear where the two oil wells will be located, China has conveyed similar objections about wells previously allotted to ONGC by Hanoi. China lays claim on almost all of South China Sea, a stand opposed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. In fact the dispute between Vietnam and China over oil exploration flared up last May when Hanoi fiercely resisted Beijing's attempts to deploy a major oil rig.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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India-China Ladakh face-off still on - ToI
The troop face-off at Chumar as well as the "civilian confrontation" at Demchok continued in eastern Ladakh on Tuesday, with India awaiting China's response to the "concerns and objections" raised at the brigadier-level flag meeting on Monday.

Another flag meeting is likely to take place at the Spanggur Gap border meeting point within "a day or two" in a bid to defuse the tensions prevailing along the line of actual control (LAC). This even as India rolls out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on a three-day visit beginning from Wednesday.

"In the flag meeting on Monday, India asked China to withdraw from the two areas and adhere to the 2005 Border Protocol between the two sides. But the Chinese sector commander said he would have to seek instructions from his higher HQs. In effect, the meeting was inconclusive," said a source.

Though the government maintained the Chumar and Demchok incidents are "routine in nature" due to "differing perceptions" about where the LAC lies, the fact remains that in both the cases the confrontation has stretched well beyond a couple of days. This is unusual for the border flare-ups that occur due to aggressive patrolling by both sides to lay claim to disputed areas.

A similar face-off had also erupted just before Chinese premier Li Keqiang's visit to India in May last year, which had lasted for 21 days after Chinese troops intruded 19km into Depsang valley in the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector.

The Indian post at Chumar, with its observation points and surveillance cameras, was also the bone of contention during the Depsang face-off. It was finally defused after India dismantled what it called "a tin shed" at Chumar and the PLA troops simultaneously withdrew from Depsang.

As reported by TOI, the ongoing troop face-off at Chumar was triggered after Indian soldiers last week prevented People's Liberation Army from building a road right up to Chepzi on the LAC in the sector where the altitude varies from 11,000 to 15,000 feet.

Though the over 100 Indian troops were outnumbered 1:3, they confronted the Chinese soldiers equipped with cranes and bulldozers and then asked them to withdraw. "As it is, the PLA has built massive infrastructure all along the LAC, and the gap is ever-increasing. They have become especially active in the Chumar sector since our positions there overlook theirs," said a source.{So, this is a tit-for-tat by India. That's good. From here on, we should also become proactive like the Chinese, intruding into their side with banners in Chinese that say "You are on Indian Territory. Please go back". If they confront us, we stay put for 15 or 20 days and extract a concession before withdrawing. BDCA will prevent a flare-up and we must exploit that as the Chinese are doing. That was the Chinese aim of BDCA}

China, in turn, had actively obstructed Indian civilian workers from constructing a water irrigation channel under the NREGA scheme at Demchok for the last one week. A large number of Chinese graziers, ferried on PLA vehicles from their village called Toshigang, have pitched tents at the site to ensure the Indian workers cannot engage in the construction of the water channel.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by Cosmo_R »

To combat China on their own terms we must use a little jiu jitsu.

The Chinese (of all ethnicities) harbor a a long suppressed desire for religion. Buddhism, Islam, Christianity are all huge fault lines that transcend the Han vs the rest.

You want to fissure a monolith? nothing like beliefs.

The 'sicular' Indian state has been loth.

Assassins mace?
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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China keen on pushing reactors - Suhasini Haider, The Hindu
Beijing is expected to push its new-generation APC1000 nuclear reactors during talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. The two leaders are expected to discuss the possibility of a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Mr. Xi arriving in India on Wednesday.

The discussions, still at a very incipient stage, will find their way into the joint statement, say officials, although no outcomes are expected.

Replying to a question by The Hindu , External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, “It would be normal if, when, two countries with such huge energy requirements, with such huge interest in promoting nuclear energy, meet, there could be discussions on possible cooperation in this area.”

The proposal for civil nuclear cooperation was initiated by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to India in May 2013. Since then, sources say, Chinese officials have spoken about the possibility of supplying reactors to India with visiting delegations. But there has been little movement, given India’s opposition to China’s offer of two APC1000 reactors to Pakistan to be built near Karachi.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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China-made SIMs may make telecom and banking sectors vulnerable: National Security Council - Economic Times
The National Security Council (NSC) has said that SIM cards manufactured by Chinese companies could make the country's telecom and banking networks vulnerable to security threats, and called for 100% domestic procurement of such cards.

NSC — the apex agency looking into the country's political, economic, energy and strategic security concerns — has written to the department of telecom (DoT), seeking immediate steps to ensure all SIM cards used in the country are domestically manufactured and that the companies making them must secure a security clearance from the ministry of home affairs.

This is important to restrain transmission of sensitive data outside territorial limits of India, said the NSC communication, which was reviewed by ET.

Despite enough production capacity in the country, 40% SIM cards sold in the country are imported, mostly from China.

Consequently, all the secret keys used through the SIM card become available to personalised centres located outside judicial boundaries of Indian security agencies, it said. "Besides SIM card cloning, other security issues that can arise from compromise of keys can be location tracing, call and SMS diversion, copying of data transmitted, remote extraction of network and banking keys," NCS said in its communication.

"With increasing use of mobile phones for various value-added services including mobile banking and payments, the risk of compromise of secret keys is extending to banking and payment infrastructure as well," it added. Explaining the security threat, NCS said that unlike the telecom equipment that is centrally located, SIM cards are in the hands of a million users and can be attacked over the air from external locations.


It has further said that some SIM card manufacturers, owned and controlled by Chinese nationals with unclear ownership and antecedents, have established SIM card personalisation activity, or making them ready to use, in India. This, according to NSC, was done to bypass the upcoming policy that would mandate domestic production of SIM cards.

The council has also named Eastcompeace as one of Chinese SIM manufacturers that are partly owned by the sovereign. It said the government needs to clearly establish and monitor the context of ownership before it gives clearance to such facilities. To avert such threat, NSC has proposed that an appropriate technical agency such as the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) should inspect and certify security measures instituted by each SIM manufacturing units to ensure that personalisation keys are only located in India and are available to be inspected by the home ministry.

It has proposed a policy similar to that of China where all SIM cards are to be supplied only by units established in the country and each manufacturer and supplier needs to obtain a specific licence for supply of SIM cards. The licence is periodically renewed and monitored by a designated agency.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by Kashi »

So the Chinese continue to intrude into Ladakh and elsewhere at will. Are we finally going to do something about it?

If the present government is indeed doing something, is it possible to know what exactly is that?
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by SSridhar »

From NightWatch for the night of 16 September 2014
India-China: Indian Prime Minister Mohdi hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping for a three-day visit, starting 17 September. The men will discuss trade, investment and border disputes.

Comment:
The most significant international political dimension to the visit is that President Xi will not visit Pakistan, which makes this a first. In terms of economics, India's economy is growing faster than China's, but China needs markets and India needs Chinese investments.

The counterpoint to the visit, however, is Indian press treatment of security issues in the run-up to the visit. Indian media printed reminders that a contingent of Chinese soldiers occupies Indian claimed territory in the mountains of northwestern India. Another theme has been India's race to catch up to China in building troop strength, military installations and supporting infrastructures for Indian forces opposite eastern Tibet, including the Army's new mountain corps.

The final security theme has been Prime Minister Modhi's Project Mausam, which aims to restore ancient Indian maritime, trade and cultural links to India's historic partners, from the east coast of Africa to the south coast of China. Modhi's plan is in competition with China's maritime silk route. Modhi's strategic objective is to prevent China from emerging as the dominant power in the Indian Ocean region.

The two are regional strategic competitors, but Modhi and Xi can deal with each other. For now at least, they also can help each other without confrontation. Both leaders seem intent on breaking old stereotypes. Pakistani leaders, for once, are on the sidelines watching.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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100 more Chinese soldiers enter Ladakh’s Chumar area - PTI, ToI
Chinese army on Wednesday reportedly made a fresh incursion in Chumar area and refused to return even as a flag-meeting between the two sides is believed to have made no headway in breaking the deadlock.

Official sources said that some of the Chinese troops had returned on Tuesday and it was generally expected that the others would also retreat to their side of the perceived line of actual control (LAC).

However, as many as 100 more soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) arrived from a hillock of Chumar area and strengthened its numbers to nearly 350, the sources said.


Surprisingly, the move came barely few hours ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival in India on a state visit.

India also rushed some more troops in the area and both sides were indulging in repeated banner drill, the sources said.

A Brigadier-level flag meeting, second within a week, was held in Chushul, where the issue of intrusion of Chinese troops in Chumar and civilian intrusion in the Demchok area was discussed, the sources said.

The sources said it was believed that no breakthrough was achieved and the two sides may be meeting again shortly.

Chumar, located more than 300km northeast of Leh and bordering Himachal Pradesh, has been a flash point between the two sides with Chinese making several attempts to end India's dominance in the area.

The PLA has been making repeated bids to claim Chumar as part of Chinese territory but has been thwarted every time by the Indian army.

The sources said that vehicular movement on Chinese side was noticed and it was believed that Chinese PLA was indulging in face off tactics only to divert attention of India about construction work being undertaken on their side.

Under the agreement between the two sides, any country indulging in defence construction has to inform the other sides.

Meanwhile, the stand-off in Demchok where Chinese nomads — Rebos — had pitched their tents continued. The incursion in this area is nearly 500 metres deep into Indian territory, the sources said.
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

Post by Prem »

From History

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/chou- ... sits-india
Various shots of Indian demonstrators carrying banners urging Indian Prime Minister Pandit Nehru to take a firm stand towards Chinese violations of the Indian border. LS. as Chou En Lai, Chinese Premier, descends aircraft steps and is presented with bouquet. MS. Chou En Lai standing with Nehru. MS as Nehru shakes hands with Chou En Lai. LS Chou… more
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Re: Managing Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

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Pranab: India’s oil exploration activities only commercial - Puja Mehra, The Hindu
President Pranab Mukherjee has said that the pact India’s ONGC Videsh Limited signed during his four-day state visit to Vietnam was for blocks located well within the territorial waters of the country. The clarification comes a day after China raised concerns about any agreement for oil explorations in what it called waters administered by it.

Speaking to journalists on the flight back from Vietnam, the President said: “India’s oil exploration activities in the South China Sea since 1988 are only commercial actions, and no political angularity should be drawn into it … India’s foreign policy never looks at any country through the prism of any third country.”

He also clarified that there was no relation between his visit to Vietnam and the Chinese President’s trip to India as his visit had been planned much in advance. President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Asked for his reaction to the agreement signed during President Mukherjee’s visit to Vietnam, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China had noted the development. While it had no objection to any “legitimate and lawful” agreement between Vietnam and a third country, if such a pact concerned waters administered by it or if such cooperation project was not approved by the Chinese government, “we will be concerned about such an agreement and we will not support it.”

A joint communiqué signed during the visit also declared a united Indo-Vietnam stand for free navigation in the disputed waters of South China Sea and adjoining maritime areas.

In his departure statement, Mr. Mukherjee said the Southeast Asian nation had progressed and was making strides in all fields, including economy, “based on the strength of their character and determination.”

The delegation accompanying the President included Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Members of Parliament besides senior officials from the Foreign Ministry.
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