Dec

14

The China syndrome

December 14, 2007 posted by indiatime |

Two separate news items about India’s China policy have me totally confused about what’s really going on between the two new superpowers of the 21st century. The Statesman writes about the Ladakh buddhists feeling ill at ease with the current cosy relationship between India and China. The Stratfor is reporting that India has moved 6000 additional troops near the Indo-Bhutanese-Chinese border.

One one hand, outward appearances suggest that India is distancing itself from Dalai Lama, in an attempt to diffuse some of China’s displeasure over the issue. On the other hand, China continues with its intrusions into India’s northeastern territory, in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Next month, India’s prime minister will visit Beijing and some of the things going on at the border may have some distant connection to that.

Both India and China, are also trying to get participation in the International Space Shuttle (ISS) program, in an attempt to ramp up their space missions. Indications are the two nations may very well be invited to join the club, most probably to help out in the space-based solar power initiatives.

Recently, Lee Kuan wrote in the Forbes about the differences between the rise of India and China, contrasting India’s bositerous democracy yet its peaceful rise and China’s calm communism leading its single-mindedness of purpose to bring about radical changes. China’s internal political system has allowed it to forge ahead in matters of infrastructure, but India, says Kwan, has lagged back at becoming a first world nation, partly because of its democratic conflicts and contrasts.

These two ancient neighbors, two ancient civilizations, joined the modern world almost at the same starting line in history about 60 years ago. They went to war only a decade later, and have been fiercely pursuing a bigger role world affairs ever since, are now at crossroads of history, where they are about to dominate the future of the 21st century.

What does China mean to India? An uninvited guest at dinner? An inherited bully at the border? A haunting memory of a military defeat? A brother to embrace as India’s first prime minister would call it? A fierce rival? A powerful ally? Or a syndrome that will keep giving us intermittent headaches and chest pains?


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