M.Vivek asked: Is China's aggressive buildup at borders / Indian ocean a tact to provoke India into doing the same, thereby bankrupting itself?

R. N. Das replies: China’s buildup at the border and in the Indian Ocean region is certainly a matter of concern for India, which has been articulated at the highest level. In recent past there has been a perceptible infrastructural development across the border in China and also China’s engagement in the Indian Ocean, particularly in Sri Lanka where China is building a port at Hambantota, ostensibly for civilian purposes which however can have strategic implications on India’s security. It is only appropriate, on part of India to take measures to beef up its defence preparedness so as to meet eventualities, if any. There are, however, a slew of confidence building measures (CBMs) between the two countries to defuse tension, and maintain and tranquility in the border, but going by India’s past experience of 1962 war, it would be imprudent to neglect defence preparedness . There can not be any room for complacency in matters of national security, territorial integrity and sovereignty. No doubt India spends a better part of its budgetary allocation for defence of the country, which is to increase further, but it would be presumptuous to say that it can lead to sort of bankruptcy. Ours is a resilient economy which has withstood many a crises in the past including the oil crisis and more recently the word financial crisis.