China appears to be on a rampage. A Chinese submarine sighting near Japan, Cyber attacks on Australia, angry and assertive moves against Taiwan and in the South China Sea, PLA in Hong Kong, soured relations with Canada and ongoing acrimony with the US. All these point to China becoming bolder and more impatient with the world. It does not seem to care for the world opinion. It seems confident that it has arrived and the world can do little to stop its long march to super power status.
Huge US Dollar deposits, a growing economy despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and new found confidence bordering on arrogance nay belligerence to take on the world and impatience to restore its own historic imperial boundaries in the close and distant frontiers make China even more dangerous.
What is China's long term goal? Not just to keep its neighbours on tenterhooks but quickly assume rule-making status on par with the US. It seems in South Asia. China's long term goal is not just to weaken and destabilize India but to decapitate and disarm it by cutting off its crown (head) in J&K by joining its borders through Karakoram Pass DBO with POK and secondly severing Arunachal Pradesh and areas East of the "Chicken's neck" or Bihar-North Bengal junction.
This may sound alarmist may take years, even decades to achieve but China is not going to rest till it achieves this.China plans in decades and thinks in centuries.
The time for appeasing a sweet talking china and playing along with its platitudes are definitely over. We must now learn to talk less and do more on all fronts.
Unless we present a united and resolute front by pushing the Chinese PLA out of Laddakh quickly we would have lost it for ever.
It is also time to forget our long cherished, and self-imposed restraint. India has no option but to shed its inferiority complex and under confidence vis-a-vis China. It is time we taught the bully a lesson just as the tiny and war weary Vietnam did in 1979. Vietnam is the only small neighbour China does not mess with even today. A Vietnamese Colonel told me long ago that Vietnam fights like the deadly red ant that does not release its claws even if its lower body is broken off.
Covid 19 notwithstanding India needs to gird its loins for the long haul and a bloody fight. It should also prepare itself for Chinese incursions in other areas like the middle and Eastern sectors. This time China is not going to stop and meekly withdraw without a fight.
We will have to wage this war on all fronts, in all theatres and using everything that we have; the army, navy, air power and economic and trade and even social and mainstream media resources. Incidentally India's air power assets are not insignificant even without the Rafale so long as we do not think that air power is escalatory. We should also be prepared for China threatening us with its SRBMs of the M-9 and M-11 class and cruise missiles. Boycotting Chinese goods might not be very effective and may adversely affect our own manufacture but China also cannot afford to lose billions of dollars of trade with India.
This time Japan, Australia, Canada, the US and many other smaller nations are not only upset but angry with China for a host of reasons and India should be able to garner world wide support in its fight back to defend its territories. Incursions, however, small these may be, must be vacated and not just status quo ante but a safe and respectable stretch of no man's land must be created. We must not allow the Chinese to continue with its age old doctrine of first presenting absurd territorial claims and then defending them by calling the other side the aggressor.
It will not be easy. Indians will have to stop listening to the pacifist intellectual, left liberal opinion and prepare to face hardships that most young and the middle aged have never experienced. We can never match China weapon for weapon nor compete with its humongous reserve power but that does not mean we give it a walk over in Ladakh and elsewhere. We must also be prepared for Pakistan upping the ante if and when we confront China but we must warn it in no uncertain terms that this time its very existence as a nation state will be at stake if it tries to meddle in our fight with its all weather friend.
The year 2020 is already proving to test our determination and resolve. So far we have not done too badly and God willing will do better in the coming days. But let us not fool ourselves into believing that China will relent easily. Let us not be lulled by its blow hot blow cold strategy into lowering our guard.
Notwithstanding the usual infighting and clamour of a large and mature democracy I have no doubt we will prevail but this time we should not be satisfied with the PLA withdrawing by just a few kilometres; we have to push them back all the way to a point where it cannot repeat these games ever so often but settle the border issue once and for all. Last but not least we should not shy away from asking and taking help from our friends, both big and small. At the very least we will know if the Western world really cares for the cherished ideals of freedom and democracy. We will also find out if our NAM friends are really our friends. It is time China realised that it has lost a potential friend by its stupid and aggressive behaviour.
Huge US Dollar deposits, a growing economy despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and new found confidence bordering on arrogance nay belligerence to take on the world and impatience to restore its own historic imperial boundaries in the close and distant frontiers make China even more dangerous.
What is China's long term goal? Not just to keep its neighbours on tenterhooks but quickly assume rule-making status on par with the US. It seems in South Asia. China's long term goal is not just to weaken and destabilize India but to decapitate and disarm it by cutting off its crown (head) in J&K by joining its borders through Karakoram Pass DBO with POK and secondly severing Arunachal Pradesh and areas East of the "Chicken's neck" or Bihar-North Bengal junction.
This may sound alarmist may take years, even decades to achieve but China is not going to rest till it achieves this.China plans in decades and thinks in centuries.
The time for appeasing a sweet talking china and playing along with its platitudes are definitely over. We must now learn to talk less and do more on all fronts.
Unless we present a united and resolute front by pushing the Chinese PLA out of Laddakh quickly we would have lost it for ever.
It is also time to forget our long cherished, and self-imposed restraint. India has no option but to shed its inferiority complex and under confidence vis-a-vis China. It is time we taught the bully a lesson just as the tiny and war weary Vietnam did in 1979. Vietnam is the only small neighbour China does not mess with even today. A Vietnamese Colonel told me long ago that Vietnam fights like the deadly red ant that does not release its claws even if its lower body is broken off.
Covid 19 notwithstanding India needs to gird its loins for the long haul and a bloody fight. It should also prepare itself for Chinese incursions in other areas like the middle and Eastern sectors. This time China is not going to stop and meekly withdraw without a fight.
We will have to wage this war on all fronts, in all theatres and using everything that we have; the army, navy, air power and economic and trade and even social and mainstream media resources. Incidentally India's air power assets are not insignificant even without the Rafale so long as we do not think that air power is escalatory. We should also be prepared for China threatening us with its SRBMs of the M-9 and M-11 class and cruise missiles. Boycotting Chinese goods might not be very effective and may adversely affect our own manufacture but China also cannot afford to lose billions of dollars of trade with India.
This time Japan, Australia, Canada, the US and many other smaller nations are not only upset but angry with China for a host of reasons and India should be able to garner world wide support in its fight back to defend its territories. Incursions, however, small these may be, must be vacated and not just status quo ante but a safe and respectable stretch of no man's land must be created. We must not allow the Chinese to continue with its age old doctrine of first presenting absurd territorial claims and then defending them by calling the other side the aggressor.
It will not be easy. Indians will have to stop listening to the pacifist intellectual, left liberal opinion and prepare to face hardships that most young and the middle aged have never experienced. We can never match China weapon for weapon nor compete with its humongous reserve power but that does not mean we give it a walk over in Ladakh and elsewhere. We must also be prepared for Pakistan upping the ante if and when we confront China but we must warn it in no uncertain terms that this time its very existence as a nation state will be at stake if it tries to meddle in our fight with its all weather friend.
The year 2020 is already proving to test our determination and resolve. So far we have not done too badly and God willing will do better in the coming days. But let us not fool ourselves into believing that China will relent easily. Let us not be lulled by its blow hot blow cold strategy into lowering our guard.
Notwithstanding the usual infighting and clamour of a large and mature democracy I have no doubt we will prevail but this time we should not be satisfied with the PLA withdrawing by just a few kilometres; we have to push them back all the way to a point where it cannot repeat these games ever so often but settle the border issue once and for all. Last but not least we should not shy away from asking and taking help from our friends, both big and small. At the very least we will know if the Western world really cares for the cherished ideals of freedom and democracy. We will also find out if our NAM friends are really our friends. It is time China realised that it has lost a potential friend by its stupid and aggressive behaviour.
3 comments:
I completely agree. That's the way to deal with China, the bully.
India should not go for any discussion just attack and shut them down. Boycott Chinese product. And fuck them off.
Fully endorse your views.
However, I think , it is not correct to say that we will never match China's military power. A small nation compared to us, Vietnam, has fought against both USA and China and emerged victorious.So, amend your statement that China has at present edge over us.
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