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

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Feb 2015 16:28

The Malacca Dilemma for China concerns the USN. It might feel either one or more of the following:

There may not be a confrontation with India at all
The confrontation might not escalate to a level where IN is involved in a blockade
PLAN can bottle up IN

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Feb 2015 18:24

China building second aircraft carrier: reports - Japan Times

A firm has won a contract to supply cabling for a second Chinese aircraft carrier, the latest sign that Beijing is boosting its maritime power, although news of the development was swiftly deleted online.

Authorities in Changzhou said on a verified social media account that “in 2015, our city will focus on promoting some major programs,” including Jiangsu Shangshang Cable Group “winning the contract for China’s second aircraft carrier.”

The Changzhou Evening News carried a similar report over the weekend, although both the newspaper article and the post on Sina Weibo, a microblogging service similar to Twitter, were deleted shortly after publication.

Neither report gave details of the ship.

China’s first aircraft carrier was purchased from Ukraine through an intermediary and was commissioned in 2012.

Song Xue, deputy chief of staff for the Chinese navy, said in April 2013 that the country “will have more than one aircraft carrier” but left the timing open.

In a subsequent leak, Wang Min — the Communist Party secretary of Liaoning province, where the first aircraft carrier is based — said China was already working on a second ship to be completed around 2020.

China’s defense spending has been climbing sharply in recent years.

Propaganda authorities ordered that all reports of Wang’s remarks be deleted, according to U.S.-based China Digital Times, which monitors censorship in China.

Nevertheless, China’s nationalist commentators quickly responded to the latest reports, calling Monday for more aircraft carriers to be built in the face of “Western-backed provocations.”

“China is now the world’s second-largest economy, but its only flattop is a training ship rebuilt from an ex-Soviet aircraft carrier,” said an Op-Ed by Sun Xiaobo in the Global Times, which is affiliated with the official Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily.

“This is no match to the country’s economic strength.”

Although defense spending is growing by double digits, China remains far behind the United States in military capacity and reach. The defense ministry said last week that military training this year will focus on “improving fighting capacity” to win “local wars,” with Beijing embroiled in several territorial disputes.

China has been involved in occasionally tense confrontations with Japan and the Philippines over maritime disputes in the East and South China seas, respectively, amid fears the disputes could result in armed clashes.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 03 Feb 2015 21:14

Pratyush wrote:No Indian terotery should be given up anywhere. Minor adjustments are acceptable. IIRC, when Rajiv G visisted the PRC in the late 80s. Deng was reported to have said that the actual McMohan line represented a ground line that was 6 Km wide. So the dispute is only about that 6 kms.

I can accept a compromise on that line. But Indian territory is non negotiable. Moreover, Aksai Chin must be returned by the PRC.

Talk between leaders do not matter - for past leaders

The only this is the land held by the military control which matters.

India should get its land in the border and also control it with Mil for long periods. India should be ready for 50 year and 100 year deployment

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 03 Feb 2015 22:16

'China, Russia back India on UN terror resolution targeting Pakistan'

NEW DELHI: China and Russia decided on Monday to back the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) — a resolution supported by India and heavily biased against Pakistan.

At a meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) in Beijing, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said her counterparts from the two countries understood the need for endorsing the resolution that has been pending at the UN for nearly two decades and seeks to widen the existing definition of terrorism.

The CCIT was proposed by India in 1996 in lieu of Pakistan allegedly backing Kashmiri separatists.

In Tuesday’s meeting, the RIC communiqué vouched to oppose terrorism of all forms and called all countries to join efforts in combating terrorism together with the United Nations.

Speaking at a press conference after the RIC meeting, Swaraj told reporters: “Our discussions on terrorism brought consensus on two issues. Firstly, there can be no ideological, religious, political, racial or any other justification for the acts of terrorism and secondly the need to bring to justice perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these acts of terror.”

Swaraj added that the ministers emphasized the need to step up information gathering and sharing and prevent the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the purposes of recruitment and incitement to commit terrorist acts.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 03 Feb 2015 23:06

SSridhar's response to this drama by China needs to be posted here -- Chinese doing their usual two-faced oiseaulery.

SSridhar wrote:
Peregrine wrote:Xi, Putin back India on UN terror charter against Pak
Peregrine ji, I will still approach with caution. China has to show more determination than mere platitudinous words.

China has at least on two earlier (2006 & 2008) occasions blocked the UNSC’s Taliban-Al Qaeda group from declaring Jama’at-ud-Dawah and its Emir, Hafeez Saeed from being included in the list of entities and persons proscribed under Resolution 1267. It put a technical hold on all these occasions demanding to see ‘more evidence’. In May 2009, after JuD and Hafeez Saeed were eventually placed on the list in Dec. 2008, China blocked Indian move to place Maulana Masood Azhar of Jaish-e-Mohammed on the same UN 1267 Committee list. Later, when India engaged China in counter-terrorism talks in July, 2011 and presented evidence about JeM and Maulana Masood Azhar, it summarily refused to re-visit that issue. It also rejected Indian requests to place Azzam Cheema and Abdul Rehman Makki of the LeT under the Al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctions list. In the UNSC, China remained the only country not to accede to this Indian request. The usual Chinese excuse has been “there is no single definition of terrorism” and hence China has avoided taking a clarified stand on it.

China was at the forefront of supporting pakistani terrorist groups in the UN and that has not changed -- this is all worthless optics before the Indian leadership visits china.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 03 Feb 2015 23:15

Photos: 13th Meeting of Russian, Indian and Chinese FMs held in Beijing

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 03 Feb 2015 23:40

China, Russia, India support UN to mark 70th anniversary of victory in WWII

BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- China, Russia and India support the United Nations and member states to initiate and organize commemorative events for the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II, said a joint communique on Monday.

The document was released after the 13th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China. The foreign ministers recognized that the year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and the victory in the World War II, and paid tribute to all those who fought against Fascism and for freedom.

Russia, India and China affirmed the need to solemnly commemorate those historic moments of great significance in human history, the document said.

They also reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, so as to make it more representative and efficient and better respond to global challenges.

As three of the world's most influential emerging economies, China,Russia and India agreed to enhance their cooperation in oil and natural gas production, transportation, high tech, environmental protection and anti-terrorism.

To improve regional connectivity in Asia, ministers discussed initiatives such as China's initiatives of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and emphasized the necessity to explore all connectivity options for greater economic integration of the common region.

As the world economic order faces rapid changes, emerging market economies are expected to play a bigger role in world economic growth.

In this regard, the ministers called for immediate reform of international financial system so as to increase the voice and representation of emerging markets and developing countries, with a focus on the implementation of the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform by the end of this year.

The ministers decided to hold the next trilateral meeting in Russia in the second half of 2015.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 04 Feb 2015 00:34

NEW DELHI: China and Russia decided on Monday to back the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) — a resolution supported by India and heavily biased against Pakistan.

WHAT a stab in the back!!
And no surprise, UBC News has received a tip from Reliable Source Hu wishes to remain anonymous.. that Hu is being targeted when he visits Pakistan.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 04 Feb 2015 06:00

Well look forward to more border skirmishes during the May parleys. Hu's courtiers are good at arranging for that. It will be interesting days ahead if the current GoI wants to settle border at the earliest hoping for more yuan investments back home.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 04 Feb 2015 07:16

It will be interesting days ahead if the current GoI wants to settle border at the earliest hoping for more yuan investments back home.

Would be a terrible Idea to "Resolve" anything with the chinese, who are just like the pakis in reneging on signed agreements with no trouble -- case in point being NPT or UNCLOS etc. Only time to negotiate with them is when they are down so kicking them in the teeth can be part of the negotiations.

srin · Post by **srin** » 04 Feb 2015 18:07

Pratyush wrote:No Indian terotery should be given up anywhere. Minor adjustments are acceptable. IIRC, when Rajiv G visisted the PRC in the late 80s. Deng was reported to have said that the actual McMohan line represented a ground line that was 6 Km wide. So the dispute is only about that 6 kms.

I can accept a compromise on that line. But Indian territory is non negotiable. Moreover, Aksai Chin must be returned by the PRC.

+1

I'd also add Shaksgam Valley (for which we have a rightful claim as part of Kashmir) to the list. Unlikely that China would accept (would effectively cut off TSP link) but it is ours and we need to insist on it. Will give an immediate link to Central Asia. And will bolster our position at Siachen.

The other strategically important piece of land we need is Chumbi valley - that is a vulnerability due to proximity to the chicken neck.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 05 Feb 2015 18:23

Islamic State executes three of its Chinese militants - China paper

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Islamic State has killed three Chinese militants who joined its ranks in Syria and Iraq and later attempted to flee, a Chinese state-run newspaper said, the latest account of fighters from China embroiled in the Middle East conflict.
China has expressed concern about the rise of the Islamic State, nervous about the effect it could have on its Xinjiang region, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.
But Beijing has also shown no sign of wanting to take part in the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to use military force against the militant group.
Around 300 Chinese extremists were fighting with the Islamic State after travelling to Turkey, the Global Times, a tabloid run by China's ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, said in December.
The paper on Thursday cited an unnamed Kurdish security official as saying that a Chinese man was "arrested, tried and shot dead" in Syria in late September by the Islamic State after he became disillusioned with jihad and attempted to return to Turkey to attend university.
"Another two Chinese militants were beheaded in late December in Iraq, along with 11 others from six countries. The Islamic State charged them with treason and accused them of trying to escape," the official said, according to the paper.
Islamic State, which has seized parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq, has killed hundreds off the battlefield since the end of June, when it declared a caliphate.
Chinese officials blame separatists from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) for carrying out attacks in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people. But they are vague about how many people from China are fighting in the Middle East.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not comment on the report at a regular press briefing, but said China was opposed to "all forms of terrorism".
"China is willing to work with the international community to combat terrorist forces, including ETIM, and safeguard global peace, security and stability," Hong said.
Human rights advocates say economic marginalisation of Uighurs and curbs on their culture and religion are the main causes of ethnic violence in Xinjiang and around China that has killed hundreds of people in recent years. China denies these assertions.
China has criticised the Turkish government for offering shelter to Uighur refugees who have fled through southeast Asia, saying it creates a global security risk.
Cheers

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 05 Feb 2015 20:47

Darwin Award for Chinese Terrorists

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Feb 2015 07:07

China will be delighted that it is less by three Uyghurs now.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Feb 2015 07:57

Tangibles and imponderables of a visit M.K.Narayanan, The Hindu

Excerpt

The acid test for India would be how to manage the fragile balance that exists between India and China, following implicit references in the Joint Strategic Vision Document to China’s growing economic and military strength and its assertiveness. Analysts see the document as demonstrating that India and the U.S. now see each other as a crucial partner in offsetting China’s increasingly assertive role in Asia — marking a significant departure from India’s past unwillingness to forge a common front against China. Redefining the relationship is also seen as a step towards reviving the Quad (a security collaboration arrangement between Australia, Japan, India and the U.S., first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe).

China’s initial reaction has expectedly been unfavourable with a passing reference to the effect that India cannot expect to butter its bread on both sides. It was only in May last year that Chinese President Xi Jinping had mooted a “code of conduct” for Asian countries to resolve security issues among themselves {The author is referring to a speech by Xi Jinping in the 2014 CICA Security Conferenece where he offered a code of conduct to Asian countries but there is another 'Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea' that is of 2002 vintage between China and ASEAN that Chins does not want to conclude to this day!}— which, incidentally, included a veiled warning against forging alliances to counter China. He had pledged to build a new sustainable and durable security cooperative structure so that security problems in Asia were eventually solved by Asia. The Vision Statement is likely to be viewed by China as a negation of this concept, and the warm reception accorded to India’s Foreign Minister in Beijing, and the invitation to India to join both Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as full members should not lull India into complacency. Chinese thinking tends to be elliptical and the Chinese mind tends to be eclectic, contextual and relational.

China could well employ several levers to queer the pitch for India. For many years, China has avoided taking sides in the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, on the professed principle that regional issues should be resolved by the parties concerned. This could change. China could also exercise a “negative vote” to prevent India’s entry into the NSG. Chinese forays into the Indian Ocean could become more intrusive. The issue of the Dalai Lama could be made into a “cause célèbre,” at a time when China has managed to prevail upon most countries not to grant him an audience.{Except on the very first point where I agree with the author, the rest have been already happening and will happen irrespective of the Joint Statement by India and the US}

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Feb 2015 08:30

China-funded port project still on track - Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu

Backtracking from its pre-election announcement on scrapping the Chinese-funded port city in Colombo, the Sri Lankan government on Thursday said it would go ahead with the $1.34-billion project.

According to Cabinet spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, a report on the environmental impact of reclaiming land near Colombo’s beachfront said “it [the project] was fine”. The impact of the development of the area will be assessed later as “there was more time”, he said, addressing media-persons.

Election promise

The decision comes less than two months after Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe announced, prior to the country’s January 8 presidential elections, that the massive port city project would be scrapped due to concerns over possible environmental damage to the island’s coastline.

At that time, Mr. Wickramasinghe’s remarks came as good news to sections in New Delhi that had been rather concerned about Sri Lanka’s apparently growing proximity to China. New Delhi conveyed its “serious concerns” to Colombo, after a Chinese submarine docked at the Colombo Port twice last year.

Asked if the newly-formed government had not been aware of the environment impact assessment report then — readied prior to the inauguration of the port city project in September 2014 — Mr. Senaratne said: “Certain people were not aware.” The port city — Sri Lanka’s single largest foreign investment inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014 — is coming up near Colombo’s container terminal, also built by the Chinese. China’s agreement with Sri Lanka enables it to gain ownership of a third of the nearly 580 acres of reclaimed land where the port city is to come up.

The project, Mr. Senaratne said, will be further discussed when President Maithripala Sirisena travels to China in March, soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wraps up his visit to Sri Lanka.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Feb 2015 13:39

Thailand boosts military ties with China amid US spat - StraitsTimes

China and Thailand agreed on Friday to boost military ties over the next five years, from increasing intelligence sharing to fighting transnational crime, as the ruling junta seeks to counterbalance the country's alliance with Washington.

The agreement came during a two-day visit by China's Defence Minister Chang Wanquan to Bangkok, and as Thailand's military government looks to cultivate Beijing's support amid Western unease over a delayed return to democracy.

"China has agreed to help Thailand increase protection of its own country and advise on technology to increase Thailand's national security," Thai Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters.

"China will not intervene in Thailand's politics but will give political support and help maintain relationships at all levels. This is China's policy."

Pattom · Post by **Pattom** » 06 Feb 2015 14:23

Maybe this has been discussed in the past, but what would happen if, in the event of a war, someone were to breach the Three Gorges dam (like in Force 10 from Navarone)? Would that not mean immediate defeat for China?

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 06 Feb 2015 20:00

Would that not mean immediate defeat for China?

I think the effect is more on those DOWNSTREAM, not upstream. "Swatchh Kolkotta"

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 07 Feb 2015 04:02

X-Post....

Philip wrote:Tx Abhi.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e22754950/

Navy Intel Officer Warns of Future China Conflict
Calls for telling the truth about Beijing
BY: Bill Gertz
February 2, 2015 10:00 am

HONOLULU—China’s ruling Communist Party is “rejuvenating” and preparing for a military conflict in Asia, the outgoing intelligence chief of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet is warning.

“The strategic trend lines indicate the Communist Party of China is not only ‘rejuvenating’ itself for internal stability purposes, but has been and continues to prepare to use military force,” Navy Capt. James E. Fanell said on Saturday during his retirement speech at Pearl Harbor.

Speaking on a pier across the harbor from the battleship USS Missouri, where Japan’s surrender was signed ending World War II, and near the memorial over the submerged wreckage of the USS Arizona, sunk in 1941 during the Japanese attack, Fanell said he believes Beijing prefers not to use its growing military force for achieving regional dominance.

“But let’s not deceive ourselves. The evidence I’ve been chewing on over the past 15 years is overwhelming,” he said. “Beijing has prepared for military action and [Chinese] President Xi Jinping’s ‘China Dream’ has a defined timeline to reach this ‘rejuvenated’ end state.”

On the Obama administration’s policy of shifting forces to the Pacific, called the “rebalance,” Fanell said the program is a good first step to counter the challenge of China.

“But it must be backed up with a real, tangible deterrent force and we must stand up to Beijing’s propaganda and bullying campaign, especially those that come at the expense of our allies and partners,” he said.

The rebalance includes the shift of some troops, naval, and air forces to the region but it has been limited as a result of sharp defense cuts under the Obama administration and continuing U.S. military commitments in the Middle East.

The career intelligence captain called on his fellow intelligence officials to present honest assessments of the danger posed by China’s growing military power, an indirect criticism of what officials have said have been numerous U.S. intelligence failures in assessing China’s military build up over the past three decades.

“The challenge, as I have seen it, is for intelligence professionals to make the case, to tell the truth, and to convince national decision and policy makers to realize that China’s rise, if left unchecked or undeterred, will necessarily disrupt the peace and stability of our friends, partners, and allies,” he said.

“We should not have to wait for an actual shooting war to start before we acknowledge there is a problem and before we start taking serious action,” Fanell said.

The Communist Party of China has plans that “stand in direct contrast to espoused U.S. national security objectives of freedom of navigation and free access to markets for all of Asia,” he added.

In particular, the Chinese navy, Fanell said, is taking steps to achieve strategic objectives that include the restoration of what Beijing says is “sovereign maritime territory,” specifically thousands of square miles of water inside the so-called first island chain—a string of western Pacific islands near China’s coasts stretching from Northeast Asia through the South China Sea.

Fanell is retiring after more than 28 years in the Navy. He told more than 100 guests attending the Pearl Harbor ceremony, including several admirals, that he was inspired to join the sea service in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan.

“It was the words, the images, and his vision for a strong America, one that would combat the global spread of communism, that motivated me to sign on the dotted line,” Fanell said of Reagan.

“This ‘calling’ is what drew me into the United States Navy and kept me going.”

Fanell has held the storied post of U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet “N2,” the chief of fleet intelligence, since 2011. That post was held by some of the most senior U.S. intelligence officials.

One famous Pacific Fleet N2 was Edwin Layton, who from 1940 to 1945 pioneered the use of secret electronic communications intelligence in war planning.

Other Pacfleet N2s include former Adm. Bobby Ray Inman, a former director of the National Security Agency; and Adm. Mike McConnell, another former NSA director; and former Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lowell Jacoby, a former admiral.

“There is no finer intelligence officer in the United States Navy than Jim Fanell,” retired Rear Adm. James. D. Kelly said in remarks during the ceremony. Kelly was a former commander of the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Kitty Hawk and is currently a dean at the Naval War College.

Fanell said writing the retirement speech was “one of the hardest events of my career.”

“For the past 90 days I have truly struggled to come up with the right words to wrap up 28 and a half years of service in the U.S. Navy,” he said.

In often emotional farewell remarks, Fanell noted that an early intelligence innovator, World War II Navy cryptanalyst Joseph Rochefort pushed the envelope of using communications intercepts to target the Japanese fleet.

“Joe Rochefort came out of the disaster of 7 December [1941] with a firm resolve to provide the U.S. Pacific Fleet the best assessed location of the Imperial Japanese navy’s fleet,” he said.

“And Joe did this despite knowing that his ‘masters’ in Washington at OP-20-G/Navy Communications did not want Station Hypo to provide this intelligence directly to the Fleet. Joe knew he was bucking the system and it was something he would pay for dearly later on in 1942, but that is another story for another time.”

Rochefort, who died in 1976, helped break Japanese codes that were the key to locating, attacking, and ultimately defeating the Japanese fleet in the Pacific.

But Rochefort was twice denied medals by senior Navy officials who he had angered. In 1986 Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

Fanell’s career was cut short after he made two speeches in San Diego in 2013 and last year bluntly describing the threat posed by China.

In February 2014, Fanell said that Chinese military exercises indicated Beijing was preparing for a “short, sharp war” with Japan.

Tensions between China and Japan remain high over Beijing’s efforts to claim the Senkaku Islands, Japanese islets located between the southern end of Japan and Taiwan.

China is claiming the Senkakus as its territory and last year imposed an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea that covers the uninhabited islands.

Both the United States and Japan announced they would not recognize the Chinese defense zone.

In 2013, Fanell, during a similar conference in San Diego, warned that China was escalating what he said was the bullying of regional neighbors.

The blunt comments by the captain triggered criticism from pro-China analysts in the U.S. government and academic community.

In November, Fanell was removed from his post and assigned to another position after an anonymous complaint to the Pacific Fleet inspector general triggered an investigation.

An investigative report produced by the U.S. Pacific Command concluded that Fanell on several occasions improperly “discussed classified information in the presence of foreign nationals.”

“The anonymous IG complaint alleges that Capt. Fanell repeatedly discussed classified information in the presence of foreign national staff members, or otherwise allowed foreign national staff members to come into contact with classified information not authorized for release to foreign nationals,” the report, dated Dec. 5., states.

Additionally, the report indicates the issues involving the briefings was initially handled by the Navy’s Pacific Fleet but was taken over by the U.S. Pacific Command inspector general. No reason for the takeover was given.

The commander of the U.S. Pacific Command at the time of the investigation, Adm. Samuel Locklear, is among the most assertive in seeking closer relations with the Chinese military as part of the Pentagon’s policy of trying to build trust with the People’s Liberation Army.

Last week, however, the Pentagon suspended military exchanges with China over a lack of agreement for setting up rules for aerial intercepts of U.S. surveillance aircraft in Asia by Chinese jets, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The PACOM investigative report said numerous officials interviewed by investigators “spoke highly of Capt. Fanell’s dedication and commitment to proper safeguarding of classified material.”

“Capt. Fanell explained that he believes there is a tension between ‘operationalizing’ and “internationalizing’” intelligence information, the report, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act states, noting that the Navy staff in recent years has included the addition of regional allies.

“Capt. Fanell sees these as diametrically opposed to one another and ripe for challenges.”

Additionally, the report said an online news clipping service moderated by Fanell called “Red Star Rising” was criticized by unidentified critics as “a potential security problem,” “unprofessional,” and “inappropriate.”

However, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said the website “did not pose any security concerns.”
Fanell declined to comment on the investigation.

A Pacific Fleet spokesman said the investigation “had nothing to do” with Fanell’s earlier comments in San Diego.

But other defense officials said they are convinced the investigation of Fanell and his reassignment was an outgrowth of the comments that angered pro-China officials and intelligence analysts within the U.S. government.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security ... -conflict/

How Canada compares to ‘Five Eyes’ members in intelligence oversight
The Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Feb. 02 2015,

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 07 Feb 2015 04:09

MKN is playing the pro-China card and that too in Chindu.

Sad that he is reduced to that role.

vijaykarthik · Post by **vijaykarthik** » 07 Feb 2015 07:48

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pac ... -China-Sea

Freaking double speak from the Chinese again.

"
“Countries outside the region should respect the efforts of countries in the region to safeguard peace and stability, and refrain from sowing discord among other countries and creating tensions," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said."

So why come to Sri Lanka, Maldives and other regions then?

vijaykarthik · Post by **vijaykarthik** » 10 Feb 2015 08:04

Interesting, this

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericrmeyer/ ... -shortcut/

FTA: On the 29th of January, China opened, with little fanfare, a new oil link through Myanmar. Despite its low profile, this project has clearly been a huge undertaking, both technologically and politically. This 2,400km long pipeline runs through some of the most rugged areas on the planet, marked by jagged hills and ridges and dense jungle. On top of that, two stretches of the pipeline traverse two of Southeast Asia’s political hotspots, the Rakhine and Shan States, which retain semi-autonomous armies that have only just recently been nominally pacified.

---
I remember reading, earlier, about the plan to set this up.

Werent they (Myanmar leaders) trying for a ceasefire on their Union day. Sometime on the 13th of this month, I think. Don't think the ceasefire will happen though.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 14 Feb 2015 12:16

X-post from STFU-P thread:

Indian Urdu Daily from Lucknow, Sahafat, reports:

"China forces Imams to dance; in revenge, 6 Hindus murdered in Sindh."

[See article in bottom half of page]

A couple of days ago this article became news, on Chinese Imams being forced to dance.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 15 Feb 2015 06:15

India-China boundary talks likely by month-end - Atul Aneja, The Hindu

Indian and Chinese Special Representatives on the boundary issue are expected to meet in India by month-end, amid a flurry of high-level exchanges leading up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in May.

Highly placed sources told The Hindu that both sides are working on dates for a possible February-end meeting between China’s visiting state councilor, Yang Jiechi, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who is also India’s Special Representative on the boundary issue.

Keeping up the momentum of high-level exchanges following External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to China earlier this month, Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the central committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), called on Mr. Modi on Friday.

Xinhua is reporting that the Prime Minister advocated stronger economic and trade ties between two countries, which, in his view, would help New Delhi and Beijing play a “more important role” in Asia and the world.

Ms. Swaraj had visited China, shortly after the high-profile visit to India by U.S. President Barack Obama, signalling that India’s “multi-vectored diplomacy” of simultaneous engagement with the major powers was in full flow.

Sources said that her Chinese hosts had gone out of their way to welcome Ms. Swaraj — marking a subtle “correction” of their disposition towards the Minister, on whom the focus was somewhat blurred during President Xi Jinping’s visit to India in September last.

In Munich, Mr. Yang and Mr. Doval had advocated an acceleration of the boundary talks.

Following that meeting, Global Times — a daily associated with the CPC — ran an op-ed titled, “Sino-Indian border deal requires clear signals.”

It pointed out that India was sending mixed signals regarding the border.

“India's regular patrolling along the border areas has been stepped up, and a massive infrastructure programme has been launched in these areas. Under such circumstances, more patience is needed for a breakthrough of the solution” said the daily.

However, the article acknowledged that “India is making efforts in showing flexibility and creating a favourable atmosphere on resolving the issue.”

The write-up quoting Ms. Swaraj’s advocacy for an “out of the box” solution to the border issue, stressed that such an approach is likely to be reflected in “a breakthrough over the eastern part of the border, which contains the most controversial area between China and India.”

Slamming what it called was the “illegal McMahon Line,” the op-ed, based on an interview with Lan Jianxue, an associate research fellow with the China Institute of International Studies, stressed that, “If India won’t make adjustments over the line, there will be no suggestion whatsoever that the two sides are any closer to agreeing.”

On the contrary, analysts say that during the upcoming boundary talks, India would be looking for “greater flexibility” from the Chinese side, and also gauge whether it reflects the changing internal power dynamics in China, and the diminishing role of “hardliners,” in tune with Mr. Xi’s consolidation of power.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 15 Feb 2015 08:41

India fails to walk the ‘Act East’ talk - Indrani Bagchi, ToI

India's "Act East" policy may take a serious hit, as New Delhi has unilaterally extended the deadline for its connectivity projects in Myanmar from 2016 to 2019, a clear sign that despite tall claims it just cannot deliver on the ground.

India is responsible for two big projects — Kaladan multi-modal transport project and India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway. Both projects, controlled by MEA, have fallen behind schedule drastically. This despite the projects being India's opportunity to show that it was putting its Look/Act East policy on an overdrive.

On the trilateral highway, India has committed to construct and upgrade about 70 bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa road section and upgrade Kalewa-Yargyi stretch. While the Thais have completed their part of the work, and even the Burmese have made significant progress, India is lagging behind.

The government has taken refuge under the excuse that MEA's budget has been chopped in the past couple of years.

A bigger problem is one of management — which involves interministerial coordination and that too has slipped up. These critical projects have all been brought under a newly created development partnership department in the MEA.

The trilateral highway starts from Moreh in Manipur and ends at Mae Sot in Thailand. India has completed a little over 132 km of the road work, leaving close to 30 km undone.

As part of the Kaladan project, India is building Sittwe Port on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. It is also supposed to build jetties at Paletwa (in Myanmar) on the Kaladan river. India has also offered to upgrade/build Chaungma-Yinmabin section in Myanmar as well as the Yinmabin-Pale-Lingdaw section.

These projects were India's showpiece initiatives which blended the Indian government's mantras of "connectivity" and the bigger strategic vision to balance Chinese power. China has, meanwhile, powered ahead, building connections throughout south-east Asia to integrate it more closely to the Chinese growth engine. India is way behind, but there was the hope that it would push its system to catch up.

That may not happen as quickly as the government imagines.

In his opening statement at the 12th ASEAN summit in Myanmar last November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rebadged India's old "Look East" policy, saying, "My government has been in office for six months and the intensity and (the) momentum with which we have enhanced our engagement in the east, is a reflection of the priority that we give to this region ... A new era of economic development, industrialization and trade has begun in India. Externally, India's 'Look East Policy' has become 'Act East' policy," Modi said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Feb 2015 15:49

China launches $40 billion Silk Road infrastructure fund - PTI, ET

China today officially launched its ambitious $40 billion Silk Road infrastructure fund which will be managed by three of its major financial institutions.

The Silk Road Fund designed to finance China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiatives has began operation, the country's central bank, People's Bank of China said.

The Silk Road Fund Co Ltd was established in December last year in Beijing, after President Xi Jinping announced the creation of the $40 billion fund in November.

The company was jointly funded by China's foreign exchange reserves, China Investment Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of China and China Development Bank.

The fund is drawn from China's massive $4 trillion forex reserves.

"The priority (of the company) is to seek investment opportunities and provide investment and financing services during the progress of the Belt and Road Initiatives," the Bank statement said.

"Belt and Road" refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiatives proposed by China in 2013 for improved cooperation with countries in a vast part of Asia, Europe and Africa.

A management team headed Wang Yanzhi, an official with the country's foreign exchange regulator has been formed to formally operate the fund.

The fund is part of China's national strategy to revive the land-based and maritime Silk Roads by financing major infrastructure projects along the centuries-old trading route.

Observers say it is aimed expanding China's strategic influence and counter US' Asia Pacific pivot.

The Silk Road projects involved a maze of roads and ports connecting Asia, Europe and Africa.

India which has been invited to take part in the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar (BCIM) and the Maritime Sill Road (MSR) said it will selectively back the initiative.

While India is taking part in the meetings for BCIM, it is yet to give its response on MSR.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her recent visit here said India will not provide any blanket endorsement for the Silk Road plans and will look into its interests but wherever its interests converge India will support it.

Sri Lanka which earlier supported MSR announced review of the Colombo port under the new government.

China's other Silk Road projects include the road connecting China to Europe through Central Asia and the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor being built through Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The fund is also seen as an addition to China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for financing infrastructure projects such as high-speed railways, airports and roads in Asia.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Feb 2015 16:47

Why Putin Fears China - David Tweed, Bloomberg

Boxed in by the U.S. and its allies, faced with an uneasy relationship with China and needing new friends and income, Russia is popping up everywhere in Asia.

A new strategic agreement with Pakistan. A visit by Vladimir Putin to India. Helping search for a plane that crashed off Indonesia. Coaxing Kim Jong Un to venture out of North Korea. In a region where some governments may be less squeamish about events in Ukraine, Putin is surprisingly welcome.

Russia’s forays reflect a dual strategy: To find new markets as its economy is crushed by sanctions and last year’s tumble in oil prices, and to diversify from its one big ally in Asia -- China. Putin is concerned that his relationship with Xi Jinping is becoming increasingly tilted in China’s favor.

“The Russians are wary of becoming over leveraged to China and so they are very keen to try to diversify their portfolio and improve ties with a multitude of Asian powers,” said Andrew Kuchins, director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “The Ukraine crisis has prompted them to try to accelerate their Asian pivot.”

While Russia can’t ignore China -- it was Russia’s biggest trading partner in 2013, the two hold regular military drills and China is buying Russian gas -- the government in Moscow is renewing efforts to find other nations in Asia to act as a hedge. In recent months it has reached out to middle powers like India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Pakistan.

“Russia has changed the pace of looking east and what it sees is a complicated scenario,” said W.P.S. Sidhu, a senior fellow at Brookings India in New Delhi. “There is a sense of trying to balance China. Everybody is concerned about China’s growing capability and more importantly its intentions.”

China Basket

Putin’s accelerated Asian focus is a mix of military engagement and efforts to promote trade, the latter starting from a low base. Russia is only the 14th-largest trading partner of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with two-way trade worth $19.9 billion in 2013, up 10 percent on the prior year, according to Asean. Russia ranked as China’s ninth-most important commercial relationship in 2013.

“Russia’s priority is relations with China, however it doesn’t want to put all of its eggs in that basket,” said James Brown, who specializes in ties between Russia and Japan at Temple University in Tokyo. “That is why it is also pursuing relations with India, Vietnam - two countries with difficult relations with China -- and Japan can fit into that box as well.”
War Anniversary

While Russia’s focus on Asia predates the Ukraine crisis, including hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vladivostok in 2012, it took sanctions and an oil-price collapse to spur progress.

“Particular attention has been paid to Russia’s integration in the Asia-Pacific,” Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told lawmakers in Russia’s upper house on Jan. 26. “We have gradually developed our broad-spectrum ties with India, Vietnam and other Asia-Pacific states.”

In May, Putin will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow. Xi is signed up to go, along with North Korea’s Kim -- which could set the stage for their first meeting. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun Hye have been invited.

While Russia faces pariah status in Europe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin in December that India opposed sanctions. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak has refrained from denouncing Russia for the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine, pending a final investigation.

Asia Visits

“The local political elites of Asian nations and the populations don’t view Russia in the context of the crisis in Ukraine,” said Alexey Muraviev, a Russia defense specialist at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. “Russia is seeking strategic alternatives in response to the deterioration of its relations with western nations.”

In November Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Beijing and met his counterpart Chang Wanquan. Russia and China arranged to hold joint naval drills in the Pacific and Mediterranean.

Shoigu’s next stop was Islamabad, the first visit by a Russian defense minister since the collapse of the Soviet Union and coming five months after Russia lifted an embargo on arms sales to Pakistan. There he signed a military cooperation agreement, another first.

Vietnam Access

The same month that Shoigu visited China and Pakistan, Putin met Vietnam Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Sochi. Nguyen agreed to allow Russia’s navy coveted access to the Cam Ranh deep-water port.

Free passage will allow Russia to better protect OAO Gazprom’s exploration blocks off Vietnam’s coast and could irritate China, which last year fanned tensions by parking an exploration rig in waters also claimed by Vietnam and surrounding it with a flotilla of vessels.

Russia supplies Vietnam with aircraft and submarines -- the third of six kilo-class submarines was delivered last month -- and is helping build a nuclear-power station.

Putin capped the year with a visit to New Delhi, where India and Russia pledged to develop their relationship to a “qualitatively new level.” Putin promised to supply oil, weapons and nuclear-power reactors to India. Modi asked Putin to build factories in the country and to supply spare parts and components for Russian military equipment.
Japan Detente

Russia said it was ready to lease more nuclear-powered submarines to India, which would help India thwart China’s efforts to extend influence in the Indian Ocean. India inducted its first nuclear attack submarine from Russia for $1 billion in 2012 under a 10-year contract.

Russia is backing India to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at its next meeting in Ufa, Russia, in July, which would add heft to Putin’s efforts to develop the grouping into a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, while watering down China’s influence. The other members are Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

One of the biggest prizes for Putin would be detente with Japan to help as a hedge against China. Japan, a U.S. ally that also imposed sanctions on Moscow, is embroiled in territorial disputes with China, and would welcome better relations with Russia for the same reason, according to Kuchins of the CSIS.

Abe told parliament Feb. 12 that he wanted Putin to visit Japan this year to deepen economic ties and resolve a territorial dispute over islands north of Japan that’s kept them from signing a peace treaty since the end of World War II. Deputy foreign ministers from each country met in Moscow the same day and discussed details of the visit, according to Russia’s foreign ministry.

“The signal from Abe is ‘we are going to wait until Ukraine simmers down and then we are ready to do business,’” said Matthew Sussex, head of politics and international relations at the University of Tasmania.

Eyes, Stomach

For all of Russia’s efforts to break into Asia, its scope is limited in a competitive region, according to Robin Niblett, director of London’s Chatham House research institute. Its weapons compete with those of India, the U.S., Europe, China and Japan, and it is unable to provide security guarantees in the way that the U.S. can.

“The South Koreans will always look more to America or to China than they do to Russia,” he said in an interview in Hong Kong. “The Japanese as well.”

Last May’s $400 billion deal to supply China with natural gas from Russia’s as-yet-undeveloped gas fields in eastern Siberia appears to have stalled and little headway has been made on possible pipelines to Japan, South Korea or India.

“Russia’s geo-strategic eyes are bigger than its stomach,” said Brad Williams, a specialist in East Asia relations at the City University of Hong Kong. “Simply put, Russia doesn’t have the economy to support a sustained presence in Asia.”

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 17 Feb 2015 09:12

Pre-empting China, India inks nuclear pact with Sri Lanka - Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu

In a sign of a closer strategic partnership between Sri Lanka’s new government and India, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a civil nuclear cooperation agreement on Monday, which is Sri Lanka’s first nuclear partnership with any country.

Calling the bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation “another demonstration of our mutual trust,” Mr. Modi said India and Sri Lanka had also agreed to expand defence and strategic cooperation, including a “trilateral format” with the Maldives.

Mr. Modi is expected to visit Colombo in mid-March, and sources told The Hindu that he was likely to include Male in his itinerary.

Officials on both sides said the agreement on nuclear cooperation was an initial one and would not lead to the construction of nuclear energy reactors immediately. According to an official release, the agreement “would facilitate cooperation in the transfer and exchange of knowledge and expertise, sharing of resources, capacity building and training of personnel in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including use of radioisotopes, nuclear safety, radiation safety, nuclear security, radioactive waste management and nuclear and radiological disaster mitigation and environmental protection.”

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 17 Feb 2015 09:24

China on the verge of 1998-like Asian financial crisis - William Pesek, Bloomberg

As Chinese leaders attempt to guide their slowing economy into a soft landing, they’re counting heavily on People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan to keep conditions stable. It’s a daunting task. Firming U.S. growth is increasing the odds the Federal Reserve will boost interest rates soon. Europe, meanwhile, is on the precipice of renewed turmoil as Greece spars with euro-area finance ministers. Japan is limping out of recession slower than hoped (growing an annualized 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter), raising the chances of additional Bank of Japan stimulus.

With 560 basis points worth of monetary ammunition to use before interest rates go negative, Zhou would seem well-armed for the challenge. But what if he has fewer options than optimists think?

China's Pain Points

Comments over the weekend by Guan Tao, head of international payments at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, suggest Zhou's ability to ease may rapidly be evaporating. The problem? Fast-rising "uncertainty and instability" for capital shifts -- conditions, Guan warns, that are eerily reminiscent of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.

As China’s currency watchdog, SAFE normally operates under a cloud of secrecy. For Guan to speak out so publicly suggests there’s good reason to be worried about the kind of sudden and massive outflows that flattened Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand nearly two decades ago.

For the last 12 years, the PBOC has faced exactly the opposite problem: what to do with all the cash flooding into the country as Tokyo, Washington and Frankfurt slashed rates. That pumped up China's money supply and required some fancy monetary footwork from Zhou, who had to introduce special securities to mop up liquidity. Now, with the dollar is rising and the yuan coming under pressure, incentives to move money out of China are growing. The government’s anti-graft crackdown is adding to the problem, as crooked cadres scramble to shift their ill-gotten gains abroad.

The weakening yuan severely limits Zhou’s room to lower rates. Since the 2009 financial crisis, China’s massive credit buildup has led to overcapacity across industries and too many unproductive investments. (And the bubble continues to grow: China’s broadest measure of new credit rose $328 billion in January, the third straight monthly increase.) Something similar happened across Southeast Asia and South Korea in the 1990s; then, once currencies plunged, dollar-denominated loans blew up.

Today, China can't boost exports by letting the yuan fall, for fear that untold numbers of foreign-currency deals might unravel. What really worries investors about Kaisa Group, a previously little-known property developer that missed a coupon payment last month, is that no one knows how many other developers may default if the yuan weakens. While the Bank for International Settlements estimates Chinese companies owe about $1.1 trillion, neither Zhou nor Chinese President Xi Jinping know for sure.

These risks belie the conventional wisdom that the PBOC will be cutting rates early and often this year. By Guan's logic, any significant moves could do more harm than good. It helps, certainly, that the yuan isn't full convertible. But then, neither is it formally pegged to the dollar. As China faces capital outflows in the neighborhood of $50 billion a month, as former PBOC economist Ding Shuang has estimated, currency stability will be hard to maintain. And to leaders in Beijing, stability is everything.

China isn't necessarily headed for a crash in 2015. But those counting on the PBOC to prop up growth need to reconsider their confidence. The further China slows below 7 percent, the more likely it is that the government will have to add fresh stimulus itself. That means a credit bubble that surged $20 trillion between 2007 and 2014 will continue to swell. For all Xi's talk of epochal change, today's China finds itself much where Asia did in 1997 -- dependent on exports and excessive borrowing, and at the mercy of markets that have no trouble seeing through government spin.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 19 Feb 2015 07:13

I saw an article from Seattle times which I am not able to locate now, and made me search for the source of it from RAND. The original article was amusing as it claimed the one-child policy which has made many kids pampered and not ready for war.

Has this been posted here or other threads before ?

China's Incomplete Military Transformation
Assessing the Weaknesses of the People's Liberation Army (PLA)
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pu ... _RR893.pdf

For a brief outline...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... eport-says

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Feb 2015 06:31

China wants to write the rules for commerce in Asia: Obama - PTI, BusinessLine

President Barack Obama has alleged that China wants to write the rules for commerce in Asia which could give Chinese companies an “unfair advantage” over the U.S. workers.

“Right now, China wants to write the rules for commerce in Asia. If it succeeds, our competitors would be free to ignore basic environmental and labour standards, giving them an unfair advantage over American workers,” he said yesterday.

“We can’t let that happen. We should write the rules, and level the playing field for our middle class. The first step is for Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority,” he said in an email and an accompanying video message to Americans.

Obama said his top priority as President is making sure more hardworking Americans have a chance to get ahead.

“That’s why we have to make sure the United States - and not countries like China - is the one writing this century’s rules for the world’s economy,” he said.

“Trade has an important role to play in supporting good- paying, middle-class jobs in the United States. Unfortunately, past trade deals haven’t always lived up to the hype. That’s why I’ve made it clear that I won’t sign any agreement that doesn’t put American workers first,” he said.

“But we also should recognise that 95 per cent of our potential customers live outside our borders. Exports support more than 11 million jobs - and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. Failing to seize new opportunities would be devastating not just for our businesses, but for our workers too,” Obama said.

That’s why his administration is currently negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - so that they can benefit from trade that is not just free, but also fair, he argued.

China is not included in the TPP which the U.S. is negotiating with 11 other trading partners. It aims to set common standards on issues such as workers’ rights and the environment as well as lower trade barriers.

arun · Post by **arun** » 21 Feb 2015 09:19

The People’s Republic of China bullying Myanmar.

The Kokang ethnic group that resides in Myanmar is a Han Chinese Mandarin speaking ethnic group and Myanmar has accused P.R.China of supporting the Kokang splittists.

India should provide help to Myanmar to mitigate bullying by the People's Republic of China:

Myanmar-China Border Conflict: Officials Call On Beijing To Stop Facilitating Rebel Groups

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 21 Feb 2015 16:40

Apologies if its posted before

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 21 Feb 2015 19:12

SSridhar wrote:China wants to write the rules for commerce in Asia: Obama - PTI, BusinessLine
President Barack Obama has alleged that China wants to write the rules for commerce in Asia which could give Chinese companies an “unfair advantage” over the U.S. workers.

“Right now, China wants to write the rules for commerce in Asia. If it succeeds, our competitors would be free to ignore basic environmental and labour standards, giving them an unfair advantage over American workers,” he said yesterday.

“We can’t let that happen. We should write the rules, and level the playing field for our middle class. The first step is for Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority,” he said in an email and an accompanying video message to Americans.

Obama said his top priority as President is making sure more hardworking Americans have a chance to get ahead.

“That’s why we have to make sure the United States - and not countries like China - is the one writing this century’s rules for the world’s economy,” he said.

“Trade has an important role to play in supporting good- paying, middle-class jobs in the United States. Unfortunately, past trade deals haven’t always lived up to the hype. That’s why I’ve made it clear that I won’t sign any agreement that doesn’t put American workers first,” he said.

“But we also should recognise that 95 per cent of our potential customers live outside our borders. Exports support more than 11 million jobs - and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. Failing to seize new opportunities would be devastating not just for our businesses, but for our workers too,” Obama said.

That’s why his administration is currently negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - so that they can benefit from trade that is not just free, but also fair, he argued.

China is not included in the TPP which the U.S. is negotiating with 11 other trading partners. It aims to set common standards on issues such as workers’ rights and the environment as well as lower trade barriers.

Havent seen a more Hypocrite Statement from POTUS , he says China should not write the rule coz it would be unfair ( not to mention US itself used many unfair means in past when they were growing ) and says US should write the rules to benefit its worker coz its fair

So if US wants to protect its worker that would be fair and square but if Chinese or other developing countries would used its advantage in labour that would be unfair

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 21 Feb 2015 19:17

^^^ Are Chinese workers allowed to have unions independent of the Communist Party?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Feb 2015 19:34

China protests PM’s Arunachal visit - Atul Aneja, The Hindu

China on Friday expressed its “diametrical opposition” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China had lodged “strong representation with India,” that it was “not conducive to properly resolving and controlling disputes between the two sides, nor in conformity with the general situation of growth of bilateral relations,” Xinhua quoted her as saying.

In a statement posted in English on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website, Ms. Hua urged “the Indian side to take China's solemn concerns seriously, meet the Chinese side halfway and commit itself to fairly and properly resolving the bilateral boundary question through negotiation.”

The Xinhua report said that Mr. Modi visited a “disputed zone in the eastern part of China-India borders” on Friday to participate in activities marking the founding of the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh,” a State that Indian authorities “illegally and unilaterally declared in 1987.”

“The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’,” Ms. Hua said. She said China’s stance on the “disputed area on the eastern part of the China-India border is consistent and clear.” According to Xinhua, the “so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ was established largely on the three areas of China’s Tibet — Monyul, Loyul and Lower Tsayul — currently under Indian illegal occupation. These three areas, located between the illegal “Mcmahon Line” and the traditional customary boundary between China and India, have always been Chinese territory.

“In 1914, the colonialists secretly contrived the illegal “Mcmahon Line” in an attempt to incorporate into India the above-mentioned three areas of Chinese territory. None of the successive Chinese governments have ever recognised this line. In February 1987, Indian authorities declared the founding of the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh.’ "

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 21 Feb 2015 19:48

have always been Chinese territory.

Wonder how this can be true, if there are no Han chinese extractions living in current Arunachal Pradesh.

Is it their extra 20% neanderthal genes speaking, as reported in recent findings highlighted in a recent NY Times article.

rajrang · Post by **rajrang** » 21 Feb 2015 20:15

SSridhar wrote:China protests PM’s Arunachal visit - Atul Aneja, The Hindu
China on Friday expressed its “diametrical opposition” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

Ms. Hua urged “the Indian side to take China's solemn concerns seriously, meet the Chinese side halfway and commit itself to fairly and properly resolving the bilateral boundary question through negotiation.”

The first time in the public domain press that China has used the word halfway, implying that possible Indian expectations of relatively minor adjustments to the border (i.e. India giving up Tawang for example) will not do. They want half the state. That seems to be a hardening of their stance - is it in response to closer India / US relations, i.e. Obama's visit to India (second by the same US president, first to a republic day ceremony, offer to manufacture M777 in India etc. etc.)? On the other hand this could also be a weakening of their stance. They no longer want the entire state, but only half of it.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 21 Feb 2015 20:36

If they did not want Tawang after 1962 why would they want it now for exchange for something else. The halfway being referred to is Aksai Chin, that India abandon claims to it. I had said so before as their interest lie exactly in the western sector with their pet lapdog that needs grooming to keep India occupied and trade/oil for themselves. They would not want to fight a real direct war on the western front with India, except for managed border escalations to prove a point or two whenever they feel like.

The link that RoyG posted in the previous page, clearly summarizes their stance from 50 years ago...that is a wonderful documentary on their thinking.