Incursions and incidents of escalation are not new to India-China relations. Importantly they have been successfully diffused by a combination of adroit diplomacy, ‘show of force’ and political statesmanship.
Struggling to deal with a rigid China on the intractable border issue, India would do well to digest the core assertions of the white paper, including the growing reach of the PLA, its professionalisation, keenness to protect overseas interests, modernisation of the nuclear arsenal, and growing role in foreign policy making.
North Korea’s uranium enrichment programme has made the US jittery and is not totally confident of reopening the six-party talks. Washington needs assurances regarding North Korea’s future nuclear programmes and the key to finding a solution to the present stalemate lies with Beijing.
Like many other developing counties, Brazil also believes in self-reliance in arms manufacturing and has articulated comprehensive national defence policy with a strong support of its armed forces. There could possibly be some lessons for India.
Constant bickering between Islamist and secular leaders has resulted in deadlock over the new constitution. The Ennahda-led government has been caught between the rock and a hard place, having to deal with increased hostility of the Salafi jihadist movement while at the same being accused of being lenient by the secularists.
The latest White Paper differs from previous documents in notable ways. It has little to offer by way of greater transparency related to numbers and policies. The document suggests a more confident China positioning for greater activism in global affairs.
A series of anti-Muslim campaigns particularly after the end of the Eelam War is giving an impression that the Sri Lankan Muslims are becoming the next scapegoats of majoritarianism.
There is a lot of inaccuracy and assumption in reporting Chasma 3 nuclear cooperation between China-Pakistan. It is not conceivable in engineering terms as to how a 300 MWe Chasma 3 can be transformed into a 1,000 MWe project.
China continues to pursue its agenda on the South China Sea, employing its political, diplomatic and military departments in a well-coordinated and planned manner.
