Managing Chinese Threat

Juggi G · Post by **Juggi G** » 02 Dec 2010 08:57

X-Post

Indian Border Security Force Steps Up Modernization

The BSF soon may be given the added responsibility to guard the unfenced 1,643-km. (1,020-mi.) India-Myanmar border to stop infiltration of arms and drugs and defend against militants that maintain their camps and training centers across the border.

This follows India’s Concern over Myanmar’s Plan to Construct a Six-Lane Road to Connect Kunming in SouthWestern China and Chittagong in Bangladesh.

The Road will Pass Less than 20 km. from Mizoram in Northeastern India.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 03 Dec 2010 23:31

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/opini ... .html?_r=1
China, the Enabler

What is China thinking? Its client and neighbor North Korea is becoming more belligerent by the week, and Beijing is still playing cynical diplomacy-as-usual,.Any warnings that China might be sending in private (and there is no guarantee of even that) were immediately undercut by more of its public enabling. It saved its toughest words for the United States, warning against military activities that might infringe on waters around China. Then China blocked the United Nations Security Council from condemning the North’s dangerous behavior. And its foreign minister vowed that his country intended to remain neutral. On Thursday, a senior Chinese official declared that the China-North Korea friendship has long “withstood the tests of international tempests.” When American, South Korean and Japanese officials meet on Monday in Washington, they need to have a serious discussion about what it will take to get North Korea to calm down and into serious negotiations. We suspect that, for now, China is the only one with leverage. It could block deliveries of luxury goods to North Korea’s elite or suspend fuel shipments. That means Monday’s talks in Washington need to be as much about China and how to persuade it that enabling North Korea is a very dangerous game. China has long made clear that it has only two concerns when it comes to the Korean peninsula: stability on its border and limiting the American presence

DavidD · Post by **DavidD** » 04 Dec 2010 05:35

Prem wrote:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/opini ... .html?_r=1
China, the Enabler
What is China thinking? Its client and neighbor North Korea is becoming more belligerent by the week, and Beijing is still playing cynical diplomacy-as-usual,.Any warnings that China might be sending in private (and there is no guarantee of even that) were immediately undercut by more of its public enabling. It saved its toughest words for the United States, warning against military activities that might infringe on waters around China. Then China blocked the United Nations Security Council from condemning the North’s dangerous behavior. And its foreign minister vowed that his country intended to remain neutral. On Thursday, a senior Chinese official declared that the China-North Korea friendship has long “withstood the tests of international tempests.” When American, South Korean and Japanese officials meet on Monday in Washington, they need to have a serious discussion about what it will take to get North Korea to calm down and into serious negotiations. We suspect that, for now, China is the only one with leverage. It could block deliveries of luxury goods to North Korea’s elite or suspend fuel shipments. That means Monday’s talks in Washington need to be as much about China and how to persuade it that enabling North Korea is a very dangerous game. China has long made clear that it has only two concerns when it comes to the Korean peninsula: stability on its border and limiting the American presence

I have no inside knowledge but in my opinion, China is buying time. Being tough on NK right now could lead to a war that no one wants, but after Kim Jong Il dies, NK could be much easier to deal with. Right now, KJI holds plenty of leverage over China and the rest of the world with the threat of war, but if he dies, no one in NK will have the power he has in order to start a war, and whoever wants control of the country would need China's support. That would give China a LOT more leverage than they have now, and in the best case scenario(for China), they could prop up a leader who'll be more open to their advice regarding economic reforms and de-escalation along the 38th.

TonyMontana · Post by **TonyMontana** » 04 Dec 2010 16:50

How could you not see this. This is idiotically simple. Can you not see the co-operation between the USA and PRC? Is this not evident to you by reflection of your own history? China becomes the diplomat. This one that bell the tiger. Hero. America become the protector of freedom in Asia. Do you not see the rise of the US dollar as she flexes her muscles? Do you not see the rise in nationalism that suits the CCP when the Aircraft carrier steams in the the "East China Sea"? Do you not see the rise in Chinese export dollars as her currancy rises alone side with the US? You see too short my friends. Pawns are to be played.

Christopher Sidor · Post by **Christopher Sidor** » 04 Dec 2010 19:40

China abandoning North Korea would require china to embrace whole new paradigm. Dont see it happening. Similarly China will not like to see South Korean/Unified Korea under South/US troops on its border with Korea.
North Korea might be reigned in by China when things get out of hand. And after a few days we will see things cooling down, provided the domestic situation in North Korea does not get out of hand. But North Korea will never be abandoned by the chinks.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 07 Dec 2010 00:40

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/12/ ... .html?_r=1
U.S. And Allies Seek China And Russia Engagement on N.Korea

The White House said Obama, in a telephone call with Hu, urged Beijing to work with the United States and others to "send a clear message to North Korea that its provocations are unacceptable." The conversation between Obama and Hu took place as South Korea started live-fire naval exercises, 13 days after North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong island close to a disputed maritime demarcation line.
China's foreign ministry said Hu told Obama: "Especially with the present situation, if not dealt with properly, tensions could well rise on the Korean peninsula or spin out of control, which would not be in anyone's interest." "We need an easing, not a ratcheting up; dialogue, not confrontation; peace, not war," Hu was quoted as saying. Analysts said Hu's comments showed greater urgency but that China was reluctant to lean too hard on the North, which is in the midst of a leadership transition, for fear of a collapse that could send refugees streaming across its border. "They see an element of vulnerability and the consequences are not to their liking should there be a collapse" said Jack Pritchard, president of the Korea Economic Institute. "They can't afford to be applying too much pressure that causes a crack or the potential implosion of North Korea."

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 13 Dec 2010 09:54

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/world ... .html?_r=1
Japan Plans Military Shift to Focu

TOKYO — In what would be a sweeping overhaul of its cold war-era defense strategy, Japan is about to release new military guidelines that would reduce its heavy armored and artillery forces pointed north toward Russia in favor of creating more mobile units that could respond to China’s growing presence near its southernmost islands, Japanese newspapers reported Sunday. The realignment comes as the United States is making new calls for Japan to increase its military role in eastern Asia in response to recent provocations by North Korea as well as China’s more assertive stance in the region. The new defense strategy, likely to be released this week, will call for greater integration of Japan’s armed forces with the United States military, the reports said. The reports did not give a source, but the fact that major newspapers carried the same information suggested they were based on a background briefing by government officials. The new guidelines also call for acquiring new submarines and fighter jets, the reports said, and creating ground units that can be moved quickly by air in order to defend the southern islands, including disputed islands in the East China Sea that are also claimed by China and Taiwan. These disputed islands are known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese. Details of the realignment, which was delayed a year by the change of government in September 2009, have been leaking out since large joint military drills this month between Japan and the United States that included the American aircraft carrier George Washington.

s More on China

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 13 Dec 2010 11:27

India needs to strengthen it self in order to present it self as a viable alternative the Khans in the western Pacific basin. By the 2040s.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 13 Dec 2010 14:02

Navy, Navy, Navy... we need to have a sustainable and powerful presence on the waters

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 13 Dec 2010 17:17

Centre aghast at China-NSCN(IM) top leader nexus
http://expressbuzz.com/nation/centre-ag ... 30500.html

NEW DELHI: Is our eastern neighbour China trying to sabotage us internally by evolving a nexus with the Northeastern rebel outfits? Shocking details coming out of the interrogation of top NSCN (IM) leader Anthony Shimray are forcing the Centre to take a hard look the softpedal approach between the two countries.

Currently engaged in peace talks with the Centre, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) is not only stealthily buying lethal arms from China to rearm itself but has also supplied maps of top secret Army installations in the Northeast to India’s most powerful neighbour.

Interrogation of Anthony Shimray, one of the top NSCN (IM) leaders who is also the lead arms procurer of the troublesome outfit, has revealed that deployment positions of Agni-II missiles, ultra-modern fighter jets Sukhoi and radars have been traded off with China.

Shocked at the revelations, the Centre has asked the external espionage agency RAW and the National Investigation Agency to find out about Shimray’s Chinese handler and how the rebel leader got the top secret information.

“Shimray was found to be in possession of 110-page secret documents of which 40-45 pages are top secret and very difficult to obtain.

They give the exact positioning of the Indian Defence grid in Northeast. It is a very dangerous development against the country’s strategic interests. We are investigating into who leaked it,” said sources.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 13 Dec 2010 21:16

What's the use of so many surprises, when they don't even get you a heart attack in GoI?!

All this nexus between China and Northeast Separatists is common knowledge and common logic here on BRF. So WTF does the Center become aghast and surprised! No Indian wants their Government to be aghast and surprised at the drop of a hat. Enough of getting aghast!

We want a Government that is on top of the issues, that is creating and moulding issues, and not getting aghast all the time! And if the Government can do is get aghast, perhaps they should do it in the Opposition benches.

sum · Post by **sum** » 13 Dec 2010 21:26

Interrogation of Anthony Shimray, one of the top NSCN (IM) leaders who is also the lead arms procurer of the troublesome outfit, has revealed that deployment positions of Agni-II missiles, ultra-modern fighter jets Sukhoi and radars have been traded off with China.

“Shimray was found to be in possession of 110-page secret documents of which 40-45 pages are top secret and very difficult to obtain.

This sounds bad....seems there are high level moles for such stuff to be out in the open.

Only good thing is that the patterns/positions of the A-II etc will be changed now and hopefully, the moles are rounded up to avoid a repeat...

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 13 Dec 2010 23:24

Pioneer, reports:

The Dragon dances to Indian Tunes

FORAY | Sunday, December 12, 2010 |

The dragon dances to Indian tunesDecember 13, 2010 11:49:42 PM

Anuradha Bhattacharjee

Shah Rukh Khan is coming to town!” announced the student breathlessly as she ran in to the class. Perfectly normal in India, but in China it caught me by surprise, especially when awareness about India had been generally quite low. The film ‘My name is Khan” had been watched 13,755 times on youku.com, 10626 on qqlive, China’s equivalent on of Facebook and 7,864 on tudou.com, another popular movie website.

Ostensibly some enterprising Chinese students in the western countries have been regularly changing the English subtitles of Indian movies into Chinese for their brethren at home to enjoy, which has then been loaded on these websites. The number of views speaks for itself. ‘My name is Khan” is slated for a theatrical release in Beijing on November 30 with a Chinese soundtrack — over 30 years after the last Indian film saw a theatrical release in China whose name no one remembers now. Rumour mills have been active spreading that King Khan is coming for the promotion. “And we have also watched san sha da nao baolaiwu.” The class chorused. After some furious keying and punching into the electronic dictionaries “3 foolish men” was the presented as the translation. Aamir Khan starrer “3 idiots”! 2,02970 views across the popular movie sites. “Aal iz well’ has been played 96,353 times on one website alone.

“I feel great when I can understand a few words and sentences from the original soundtrack and know the differences between what was actually said and the subtitle,” said Li Sha, a journalist with a Chinese newspaper who has been learning Hindi for two years at the Indian Embassy-run India Centre in Beijing. “I want to be able to present the lovely music from India to my Chinese countrymen,” said Li Xin, who also learns Kathak at the Centre.

So strong is the interest in Indian dance and music that Zhang Jing Hui, a chartered accountant, has been learning Kathak for almost three years now under Ashok Chakrabarty of Lalit Kala Akademi at the Indian Embassy-run Indian Centre. She has performed at the Chinese NCPA several times, besides a host of corporate occasions. She identifies several similarities between the todas and tukdas of Kathak with the dance form of Xinjian province, especially the pirouettes.

Yu Qiuyang is a teacher of Bengali language in the prestigious Communication University of China. Besides her collection of Bengali books and classics, she shows me her collection of Hindi films. On the evening I call on her, she is practicing dancing from a song in Kisna. A kathak dancer at the Indian Centre, she rues, “I have not yet reached the level of mastery of some of my other mates,” but I am going to perform to this song at a friend’s forthcoming party. Corrie, a young music teacher comes to make my acquaintance in the train and tells me that she taught herself to play some Hindi songs on the piano in spite of a lack of notes. She can’t tell me which songs because she does not know the lyrics and there is no piano at hand!

The proof of the Hindi music phenomenon gripping China came one evening as I was walking along the riverfront of Tianjin. Notes of ‘Raat Baaqi’ come wafting through the air and on reaching the spot I see a mixed group of people dancing to it. On noticing me, some people come over to ask whether I am from Xinjiang, and insist that I join into their dancing when I tell them that I am from India.

But the ultimate treat is when one morning the phone rings and instead of “Wei, nihao,” followed by some Chinglish, it is “Namaskar mera naam Wang Jifeng hai aur mera Hindi naam Salil hai. Aapka yahaan China mein swagat hai,” the voice crackled in perfect Hindi — tone, pronunciation and diction. Wang is the Director of the Hindi programming section of China Radio International, China’s equivalent of Voice of America and a faculty at the prestigious Communication University of China. CRI runs programmes in Hindi, Tamil and Bengali, besides a host of other South Asian languages.

Later that day I get to meet ten of the present batch of students of Hindi at the All of them have adopted a Hindi name as per Chinese custom. So I meet Sindhu, Salil, Vyom, Amber, Rahul, Naina, Sugandha, Kareena, Meera and Apsara. The motivation to join the course vary from the popularity and opportunities in the culture industry to the expectation of employment in light of the growth of the Indian economy, to opportunities in IT sector! But several Hindi graduates have found employment Kareena, Meera and Naina sing “Jo rah tujh tak na pahunche, main usko chhod doon.” They want to start a business translating Hindi songs and films into Chinese and marketing them legally.

I guess "all is well". Should send Chang (Indian Idol runner-up) as India/Bollywood brand ambassador.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 14 Dec 2010 01:03

JE Menon wrote:Navy, Navy, Navy... we need to have a sustainable and powerful presence on the waters

Thanks for bringing it up. Navy, navy and again navy - and naval bases. Spaced out in manageable distances.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 14 Dec 2010 10:05

B & JEM,

We need start thinking east of Singh pura and not stay west of it. That is the key.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Dec 2010 10:34

Pratyush, Have you thought where do IAF maritime patrol planes fly from Arkonam airbase?

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 14 Dec 2010 11:27

East, but they still stay well west of Singh pura. I want the citi to host an Indian military presence of or at least be allied to India in a way that it becomes a proxy for us. Ideally I would like to have a presence in Vietnam. With the city it self as the backup.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Dec 2010 21:12

Wrong. Its SCS.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 14 Dec 2010 21:28

If you mean South china seas. Then today the presence is fleeting. It will not reassure any one of our commitment. But if we had a permamant presence in the SCS then that would be a diffrent matter. In my previous posts on this matter when posters were arguing for a major presence in Port Blair I had been arguing about getting a base in the SCS. As Port Blair does not offer the a substantial forward presence.

But this is just my thought.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Dec 2010 00:49

A New U.S. Strategy for the Indo-Pacific Region
By Michael Auslin
http://blog.american.com/?p=23960
( so they are thinking now)

The past weeks continue to bring news reflecting the ongoing shifts in geopolitics in Asia. Reports out of Japan confirm that the ministry of defense is shifting its security policy to focus on China’s growing presence in the East China Sea and a potential future threat to Japan’s southernmost islands (located near Taiwan). This has been a move long in the making, with Japanese diplomats talking for several years about reorienting the country’s military focus from the northern islands (held by Russia). On the other end of the spectrum, the Philippines bowed to Chinese pressure and refused to send a representative to the Nobel Prize ceremony last week, where jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo was honored. This follows other signs that Manila is increasingly responding to Beijing’s blandishments, thus reducing the likelihood of increased U.S.-Philippine cooperation in coming years.
The need to “get it right” in Asia is becoming ever more apparent, as Washington tries to deal with China’s rise and recent assertiveness, allied skittishness, and nonaligned nations watching warily from the sidelines. What type of new strategy does America need to maintain its influence in the most dynamic region on earth? On Wednesday here at AEI at 10 a.m., I’ll be rolling out my new report on “Security in the Indo-Pacific Commons: Toward a Regional Strategy.” Former commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Timothy Keating; former Deputy National Security Adviser J.D. Crouch; and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Jim Thomas will comment on the report.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 15 Dec 2010 00:56

Indo-Pacific??? Where did that come from?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Dec 2010 01:04

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03068.html
Don't let China be a Middle Kingdom bully

China has no such compunctions. It is recasting itself as a latter-day Middle Kingdom, not so much an epoch as a mind-set - the ethnocentric conviction that it occupies the middle of the earth and is surrounded by barbarians. The barbarians in this case include the United States, a beggar nation with a decrepit educational system, and Japan and South Korea as well. China had taken to treating these two Asian nations with unconcealed contempt. The Post's John Pomfret recently described how China's chief diplomat, State Councilor Dai Bingguo, flew to South Korea without invitation or warning, demanded to land at an airfield normally reserved for heads of state and insisted on seeing the president immediately. To his credit, President Lee Myung-bak made Dai cool his heels for a day. Beijing's belligerence has produced both the beginning of an anti-China coalition in the Far East and a little counter-gunboat diplomacy on the part of the United States. With its chip-on-the-shoulder approach, China has gone too far. As for the United States, it has not gone far enough. Of course, China is just too big and powerful to push around. Everything about it is massive. It holds nearly $3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves and it, not the United States, is Saudi Arabia's biggest oil customer. Nevertheless, Washington needs to contest China's insistence that what it does in its own country is its own business. Its treatment of dissidents is appalling - no more indigenously Chinese than the brutal beating of journalists is inherently Russian. The United States needs to respect China. It does not need to respect its repressive methods.
Oddly enough, the insistent Mia Farrow showed the way. Before the Beijing Olympics - the "Genocide Olympics," she called it - she campaigned against China's protective relationship with the brutal regime in Sudan

Same awareness being brought on
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articl ... 08231.html
China the Bully
( let Yindian change them from Bully to Billi)

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 15 Dec 2010 01:37

RajeshA wrote:Indo-Pacific??? Where did that come from?

Just like how the Americans turned Indian Subcontinent into 'South Asia', they can also turn Asia Pacific into 'Indo-Pacific'. But unlike the 'South Asia' BS, Indo-Pacific makes lot of sense. Indians should encourage this term.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Dec 2010 01:55

HIndo-Pacific is historically Indian influenced area. India claim is from Red Sea to Yellow sea, From Joberg to Japan and Suez to Seoul. Rest belongs to China .

paramu · Post by **paramu** » 15 Dec 2010 02:02

Wait for Indo-Pacific to become India-specific.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 15 Dec 2010 02:33

Dominating SCS will need a carrier fleet able to stay on without needing to touch land for a while, because the intervening straits through Indonesia/Malaysia can be easily blocked. That means a nuclear powered carrier. On the other hand, any such target is good for the R&D effort within India. The IOR proper - is perfectly poised for air dominance by India, so for that India can do without such a carrier fleet perhaps. But even that would be useful - given we have island bases in the hands of the Brits and Americans sitting right in the middle of India's operational zone. A share of those bases and creating new ones can be a time bound objective.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Dec 2010 02:51

An image from the BR Reference Material thread in GDF:

[/quote]

As you can see the old names for those seas are given here.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 15 Dec 2010 02:55

Indo-Pacific term probably mean the set union of Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean Regions, and not just India and Pacific Rim countries, but the term can be dominated by Indian domination of the Indian Ocean Rim.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 15 Dec 2010 04:13

Even to stake a claim on land, you need to show presence. On water - floating or fixed points, islands. Where is the navy?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Dec 2010 09:28

http://blogcritics.org/politics/article ... n-to-take/

The United States’ plan calls for an increase in Japan’s submarine fleet, and the installment of new permanent military bases beyond Okinawa. Also called for are fighter jets and ground units with a capacity for quick response. There was initial resistance from Japan, particularly pertaining to the new airbase, but Japan's new Democratic Party government is now looking more favorably at the Unites States’ plan. Washington includes in the concept stronger three-way military ties with South Korea.
In related news, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is considering sending Japanese forces to the Korean Peninsula for several reasons, one of which is to search for Japanese known to have been abducted by North Korea in the 1970’s and the 1980’s.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 15 Dec 2010 10:59

JE Menon wrote:Navy, Navy, Navy... we need to have a sustainable and powerful presence on the waters

These days, anything other than a sub is a floating target for Brahmos-like missiles.

Dhiman · Post by **Dhiman** » 15 Dec 2010 13:31

Pranav wrote:
JE Menon wrote:Navy, Navy, Navy... we need to have a sustainable and powerful presence on the waters
These days, anything other than a sub is a floating target for Brahmos-like missiles.

My understanding is that missiles will be the key to any future war between reasonably powerful nations. Assets such as tanks, ships, fighter jets on ground are literally sitting ducks against (and only useful during peacetime or against less powerful enemies). Launch a 1000 missiles in the initial moments of the war and there may be no more war left to fight. The key to winning the war under such a case would be how well one is able to protect their main fighting assets against a massive and surprise missile strike.

Amassing troops on border is 1960s mentality, doing a cold start with 1000 missiles in the initial moments of the war + activating airforce will pretty much ensure that there is no conventional war left to fight. But off course, I speak in a hypothetical sense onlee in true handwaving eshtyle

Purush · Post by **Purush** » 15 Dec 2010 14:26

Pratyush wrote:East, but they still stay well west of Singh pura. I want the citi to host an Indian military presence of or at least be allied to India in a way that it becomes a proxy for us.

Never going to happen. Not with a 80% chinese population, and a government that does not want to get involved in a regional military shooting match because it'll affect the economy.

They will closely engage with India militarily for joint training, refuelling stops for aircraft/ships, etc, but no permanent bases. When it comes to their defense, their main benefactor/ally is Unkil. Their official position is that Unkil's military presence in ASEAN and the Pacific region is conducive for peace and stability in the region.

They especially will not allow SG to be used as an Indian base for anti-PRC activities. You can bet your last dollar on that.

VietNam is a far better choice; it is larger than SG, has strategic depth, doesn't like the PRC, and can act as a useful, strong ally.

paramu · Post by **paramu** » 16 Dec 2010 05:04

Indonesia is the better alternative.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 16 Dec 2010 13:48

no sir, Indonesia is too volatile and fragile. Being anti-Chinese is not enough (they are anti-Chinese at a racial level) and they have open and clear Islamist tendencies. Vietnam remains the best option

Christopher Sidor · Post by **Christopher Sidor** » 16 Dec 2010 20:26

Indonesia along with vietnam and singapore can be a fulcrum around which India's security architecture is structured. All the three countries are required, so that we do not become over dependent on any one nation. This will give us freedom to act when it is required. After all if Vietnam starts a shooting war with China, we should not automatically jump to its defense. Rather we should judge the situation on its merit. In certain cases it might lead to a massive long term benefit. What applies to Vietnam also applies to Singapore and Indonesia.

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 16 Dec 2010 20:35

"How could you not see this. This is idiotically simple. Can you not see the co-operation between the USA and PRC? Is this not evident to you by reflection of your own history? China becomes the diplomat. This one that bell the tiger. Hero. America become the protector of freedom in Asia."

Yes, very admirable and uplifting, the geostrategic cooperation between the US and China, from the days of Nixon Kissinger, all in the name of safeguarding democracy and freedom. Part of it involved the US even joining China briefly to support the genocidal Khmer Rouge. It proves that there has been an alliance between a dishonourable clique of geostrategic, petro-strategic elements in the West and the CCP goons.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 18 Dec 2010 02:56

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/818a5b6c-0a09 ... z18PNCW6ZQ
Carriers back China’s global reach

The People’s Liberation Army strategists understand that China’s aircraft carriers will not present any threat to the US for many years, and some advocate concentrating on weapons that will endanger, rather than match, US aircraft carriers.Beijing is anxious not to trigger concern about its rising military and political prowess while also advancing its declared goal of rising to global greatness. Aircraft carriers are, according to military officials, both symbols of such power and necessary for a naval force venturing ever further beyond regional waters.
Admiral Wu Shengli, the PLA Navy’s commander, has said the navy is modernising because of China’s “expanded national interests”. These include protecting vital sea lanes through the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca all the way to the Middle East, where most of China’s oil comes from, according to China’s defence white paper. The PLA Navy has shown it is serious by sending anti-piracy forces to the Gulf of Aden since late 2008.

Raja Ram · Post by **Raja Ram** » 18 Dec 2010 10:56

This sunday, I will be making my fifth talk in as many months on China and the threat it poses. I have received encouraging responses from professionals from different streams. They are all usually "well informed" types getting their views from media. But after listening to the presentation, they are surprised that know so little.

They usually come up and ask where can they get better information and my answer has always been bharat rakshak and its forums. I have also learnt along the way to do the presentation in Tamil, and the effectiveness of the message delivery is far improved when it comes to reaching the audience. Even if the audience is familiar with English.

In my own small way, I am spreading the message of nationalistic thinking in my community, would urge more of the same by stalwarts here. Wish me luck gentle readers, for if I do succeed in planting nationalistic thinking amongst the youth and women in some small way, India will be well served. At least to a small extent.

Raja Ram · Post by **Raja Ram** » 18 Dec 2010 10:56

This sunday, I will be making my fifth talk in as many months on China and the threat it poses. I have received encouraging responses from professionals from different streams. They are all usually "well informed" types getting their views from media. But after listening to the presentation, they are surprised that know so little.

They usually come up and ask where can they get better information and my answer has always been bharat rakshak and its forums. I have also learnt along the way to do the presentation in Tamil, and the effectiveness of the message delivery is far improved when it comes to reaching the audience. Even if the audience is familiar with English.

In my own small way, I am spreading the message of nationalistic thinking in my community, would urge more of the same by stalwarts here. Wish me luck gentle readers, for if I do succeed in planting nationalistic thinking amongst the youth and women in some small way, India will be well served. At least to a small extent.