China has military presence in Gilgit-Baltistan (PoK)
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India confirms presence of PLA battalion in Pak Kashmir
ASIA PACIFIC
Date Posted: 02-Sep-2010
Jane's Defence Weekly
India confirms presence of PLA battalion in Pakistani Kashmir
Rahul Bedi JDW Correspondent - New Delhi
The Indian Army has confirmed that a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) infantry battalion is stationed in the Khunjerab pass in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan region to provide security for workers building a high-speed railway and road.
This road and rail line will eventually link China's Xinjiang province to Gwadar and the adjoining Pasni and Omara ports on Pakistan's Western Makran coast in Balochistan province. China has been developing the transport link for more than eight years to gain access to the Persian Gulf, from where it imports more than 60 per cent of its oil supplies.
It takes up to four to six weeks for Chinese oil tankers to ferry oil from West Asia, but once the surface links via Gilgit and Baltistan in the region known as the Northern Areas are constructed it will take only 48 hours, according to senior Indian Army officers.
Indian Army intelligence officers, alerted to the PLA deployment in Pakistan-administered Kashmir by a recent report in The New York Times, believe the number of Chinese troops in that region will soon be tripled to brigade strength - about 3,000 to 5,000 personnel.
Pakistan, which does not allow independent media or observers into the Northern areas, has dismissed the Times reports as baseless and Indian's reaction to it as "hype".
China has also denied the reports as "baseless" and stemming from "ulterior purposes". "Some people are making fabrications to destroy relations between China, Pakistan and India, but in their attempt will arrive nowhere," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Ju said at a regular briefing in Beijing on 2 September.
Quoting foreign intelligence sources, Pakistani journalists and human rights workers, however, the Times claims that about 7,000 to 10,000 PLA personnel are stationed in the Northern Areas.
Indian assessments indicate that the PLA presence has doubled as a bulwark to prevent the infiltration of Islamist Jihadists from Pakistan into Xinjiang province. "The PLA keeps the region under strict watch to avoid infiltration of Jihadists into China from the Northern Areas," said one military officer.
Security sources in New Delhi said the PLA presence in the Northern Areas will feature prominently in India's Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) meeting, scheduled for early September.
Chaired by Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, the CoSC is expected to assess the seriousness of this development and accordingly inform the Indian Ministry of Defence, which in turn would appraise the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Times report also stated that mystery surrounded the construction of 22 tunnels in secret locations in the Gilti-Baltistan area, from where even Pakistanis were barred. Tunnels, it declared, would be necessary for a projected gas pipeline from Iran to China that would cross the Himalayas through Gilgit, but they could also be used as missile storage sites.
India is concerned about these developments as Kashmir is divided between it and Pakistan, which is a close Chinese military and nuclear ally.
Any incursion into Kashmir by the Chinese is of vital strategic importance to India's military establishment, which has been to war with both its nuclear-armed neighbours since independence.
Analysts said Beijing, wary of increased US military presence in the Persian Gulf and having no formidable blue water navy, feels "defenceless" against any possible hostile action by the West to choke its energy supplies. This perceived vulnerability has resulted in China scrambling for an alternative safe supply route for its energy shipments via Gwadar to fuel its impressive economic growth.
The cost of modernising Gwadar is an estimated USD1.16 billion, of which China has contributed USD198 million and Pakistan USD50 million towards the first phase. China has also invested another USD200 million into building a coastal highway connecting Gwadar with the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi.
The second phase, expected to cost USD526 million, will involve building nine additional berths and terminals at Gwadar and will also be financed by China. Eventually a garrison will be based at Gwadar, in addition to an air defence unit alongside an international airport capable of handling large commercial airliners.
ASIA PACIFIC
Date Posted: 02-Sep-2010
Jane's Defence Weekly
India confirms presence of PLA battalion in Pakistani Kashmir
Rahul Bedi JDW Correspondent - New Delhi
The Indian Army has confirmed that a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) infantry battalion is stationed in the Khunjerab pass in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan region to provide security for workers building a high-speed railway and road.
This road and rail line will eventually link China's Xinjiang province to Gwadar and the adjoining Pasni and Omara ports on Pakistan's Western Makran coast in Balochistan province. China has been developing the transport link for more than eight years to gain access to the Persian Gulf, from where it imports more than 60 per cent of its oil supplies.
It takes up to four to six weeks for Chinese oil tankers to ferry oil from West Asia, but once the surface links via Gilgit and Baltistan in the region known as the Northern Areas are constructed it will take only 48 hours, according to senior Indian Army officers.
Indian Army intelligence officers, alerted to the PLA deployment in Pakistan-administered Kashmir by a recent report in The New York Times, believe the number of Chinese troops in that region will soon be tripled to brigade strength - about 3,000 to 5,000 personnel.
Pakistan, which does not allow independent media or observers into the Northern areas, has dismissed the Times reports as baseless and Indian's reaction to it as "hype".
China has also denied the reports as "baseless" and stemming from "ulterior purposes". "Some people are making fabrications to destroy relations between China, Pakistan and India, but in their attempt will arrive nowhere," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Ju said at a regular briefing in Beijing on 2 September.
Quoting foreign intelligence sources, Pakistani journalists and human rights workers, however, the Times claims that about 7,000 to 10,000 PLA personnel are stationed in the Northern Areas.
Indian assessments indicate that the PLA presence has doubled as a bulwark to prevent the infiltration of Islamist Jihadists from Pakistan into Xinjiang province. "The PLA keeps the region under strict watch to avoid infiltration of Jihadists into China from the Northern Areas," said one military officer.
Security sources in New Delhi said the PLA presence in the Northern Areas will feature prominently in India's Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) meeting, scheduled for early September.
Chaired by Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, the CoSC is expected to assess the seriousness of this development and accordingly inform the Indian Ministry of Defence, which in turn would appraise the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Times report also stated that mystery surrounded the construction of 22 tunnels in secret locations in the Gilti-Baltistan area, from where even Pakistanis were barred. Tunnels, it declared, would be necessary for a projected gas pipeline from Iran to China that would cross the Himalayas through Gilgit, but they could also be used as missile storage sites.
India is concerned about these developments as Kashmir is divided between it and Pakistan, which is a close Chinese military and nuclear ally.
Any incursion into Kashmir by the Chinese is of vital strategic importance to India's military establishment, which has been to war with both its nuclear-armed neighbours since independence.
Analysts said Beijing, wary of increased US military presence in the Persian Gulf and having no formidable blue water navy, feels "defenceless" against any possible hostile action by the West to choke its energy supplies. This perceived vulnerability has resulted in China scrambling for an alternative safe supply route for its energy shipments via Gwadar to fuel its impressive economic growth.
The cost of modernising Gwadar is an estimated USD1.16 billion, of which China has contributed USD198 million and Pakistan USD50 million towards the first phase. China has also invested another USD200 million into building a coastal highway connecting Gwadar with the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi.
The second phase, expected to cost USD526 million, will involve building nine additional berths and terminals at Gwadar and will also be financed by China. Eventually a garrison will be based at Gwadar, in addition to an air defence unit alongside an international airport capable of handling large commercial airliners.
Illusive
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Average age of our parliament 64, no wonder its spineless. They can fight among themselves but not for the country. I think its time for Military generals to step up and address the media about their concerns and the politics in India endangering our national security.
I think in this aspect Pakistan is better than India, even though they are a failed state, even though their armed forces are smaller than that of India, but they always manage to counter India with blows and bleed India, they don't have a shred of emotion for India, they have only one goal destroy India, whereas here people are two minds whether to attack Pak or not or else we would have PoK under India by now.
I think in this aspect Pakistan is better than India, even though they are a failed state, even though their armed forces are smaller than that of India, but they always manage to counter India with blows and bleed India, they don't have a shred of emotion for India, they have only one goal destroy India, whereas here people are two minds whether to attack Pak or not or else we would have PoK under India by now.
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Whimpering India, assertive China
While New Delhi has floundered for 63 years on Jammu & Kashmir, Beijing has deftly made Tibet an integral part of China
On August 11, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ostensibly to thank him for "the good care India has taken of him and his followers living in exile for the past 50 years". The Dalai Lama's meeting with Mr Singh followed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao's visit to Dharamsala last month where she met the Tibetan spiritual leader and his senior aides. What transpired at that meeting is not known, but we can presume it was a routine discussion between the senior-most official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India's guests who would rather describe themselves as members of the 'Tibetan Government-in-Exile' which is based in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama's representative in New Delhi, Kalon Tempa Tsering, says too much should not be read into who called on whom where and when: "What's so unusual about the meeting? It is part of the Dalai Lama's regular interaction with Indian leaders "¦ He keeps meeting Indian leaders"¦ He met Vice-President Hamid Ansari a year ago."
Mr Ansari no doubt holds an exalted office; if the President's job were to fall vacant due to unforeseeable circumstances before Ms Pratibha Patil's tenure comes to an end, he would become the head of state, if only as a stop-gap measure. That apart, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he is not really important enough for the Government of the world's second largest economy to get into a lather over his meeting with the "splittist" Dalai Lama. New Delhi's pecking order is as well-known in the Gymkhana as in Washington, DC or Beijing: The Prime Minister matters, the Vice-President doesn't.
So, it's not surprising that China should have taken offence, and made it clear that it feels offended, when the Prime Minister agreed to meet the Dalai Lama. Beijing views this as granting legitimacy to the Dalai Lama's claimed status as the undisputed leader of all Tibetans, whether living in exile or in their homeland, vested with both spiritual and temporal authority by "his people" of "his Tibet". Beijing's position is clear, unambiguous and asserted without any sense of either self-doubt or hint of apology: Tibet belongs to China, the people belong to both Tibet and China, and the Dalai Lama has no business to poke his nose into temporal affairs — for all practical purposes he is a persona non grata and the "splittist clique" he heads comprises anti-national elements.
We need not agree with that position. Indeed, history can be cited to contest China's claim on Tibet. But if we are to take a moral position, if we are to contest China's version of history, then we should have the courage and the wherewithal to stand by our conviction and be prepared to face the consequences. The Chinese have responded predictably by upping the ante on Jammu & Kashmir and denying a visa to Lt Gen BS Jaswal who heads the Northern Command. Whether the Chinese tit followed the Indian tat or it was the other way round is not quite clear because the visa is believed to have been denied in July while the Prime Minister met the Dalai Lama in August. But irrespective of the sequence, it is abundantly clear that Beijing has considerably lowered its threshold of tolerance and New Delhi has not exactly planned for a showdown.
To merely insist that "Jammu & Kashmir concerns our sovereignty and is as sensitive to us as Tibet is to them" is neither here nor there. That we are still reluctant to call a spade-a-spade, which China does without bothering about bruised egos — the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said Lt Gen Jaswal could not visit China for a scheduled defence-related programme "due to certain reasons" although those reasons are no secret — is indicative of our inherent weakness. Diplomacy in the 21st century is not about maudlin sentiments and polite niceties; it's about aggressively, unapologetically promoting, and securing, self-interest. China does that with great élan; we talk about "sensitivity to each other's concerns", a principle we tend to follow in the breach.
Since the Government of India has chosen to compare Jammu & Kashmir with Tibet — a needless comparison really because accession and annexation aren't one and the same — it would be in order to elaborate upon the comparison. What New Delhi has failed to achieve in 63 years, Beijing has achieved in 50 years. Jammu & Kashmir, more so the Valley, remains a running sore for India, threatening to turn septic every now and then, a cesspit teeming with avaricious politicians and corrupt officials where hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees in 'development aid' have disappeared over the decades with little or nothing to show by way of either development or securing India's strategic interests. In sharp contrast, as I witnessed during my visit to Lhasa earlier this month, Beijing has converted Tibet truly into an integral part of China. The Chinese Central Government has spent more than 100 billion yuan on just developing Tibet's infrastructure over the past five decades and every yuan has been well spent. It's not just roads and houses and hospitals and schools, or for that matter the Beijing-Lhasa rail link which is an engineering marvel, but the assertion of Chinese sovereignty over the Tibetan Autonomous Region which is at once impressive and instructive, especially for us in India.
Sixty-three years after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, we are still debating the constitutional status of Jammu & Kashmir. A succession of Prime Ministers, despairing at Kashmiri separatism, have offered 'autonomy' ranging from "anything short of azadi" to "azadi short of separation". Article 370 stands as a psychological and legal barrier between India and a State the Government of India claims to integral to India. China dealt with the issue of autonomy for Tibet by restricting it to protecting Tibetan culture (for instance, polyandry is allowed but not encouraged; the one-child norm is relaxed but there are incentives for those who shun the relaxation; lamas are left alone but monasteries are guarded by the PLA) and allowing participation in what we call the political process "under the leadership of the Central Government".
Most important of all, China does not restrict Chinese from settling in China's Tibet, unlike India restricting Indians from settling in India's Jammu & Kashmir. No, the Hans have not flooded Tibet, as is often alleged by the "splittist clique", but they are free to seek jobs, set up businesses, acquire and develop property, and invest in Tibet's economy, adding to the region's prosperity. While New Delhi has squandered time and opportunity talking about 'Kashmiriyat' and 'Insaniyat' and other such bunkum, Beijing has firmly established its supremacy over Tibet: Every signboard in Lhasa is in Tibetan, but superscribed in Mandarin. Every address ends with China. And nobody shouts — alright, make that nobody dares shout — "Go China, go back!"
[This appeared as my Sunday column, Coffee Break, in The Pioneer on August 29, 2010.)
Kanchan Gupta
Whimpering India, assertive China
While New Delhi has floundered for 63 years on Jammu & Kashmir, Beijing has deftly made Tibet an integral part of China
On August 11, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ostensibly to thank him for "the good care India has taken of him and his followers living in exile for the past 50 years". The Dalai Lama's meeting with Mr Singh followed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao's visit to Dharamsala last month where she met the Tibetan spiritual leader and his senior aides. What transpired at that meeting is not known, but we can presume it was a routine discussion between the senior-most official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India's guests who would rather describe themselves as members of the 'Tibetan Government-in-Exile' which is based in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama's representative in New Delhi, Kalon Tempa Tsering, says too much should not be read into who called on whom where and when: "What's so unusual about the meeting? It is part of the Dalai Lama's regular interaction with Indian leaders "¦ He keeps meeting Indian leaders"¦ He met Vice-President Hamid Ansari a year ago."
Mr Ansari no doubt holds an exalted office; if the President's job were to fall vacant due to unforeseeable circumstances before Ms Pratibha Patil's tenure comes to an end, he would become the head of state, if only as a stop-gap measure. That apart, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he is not really important enough for the Government of the world's second largest economy to get into a lather over his meeting with the "splittist" Dalai Lama. New Delhi's pecking order is as well-known in the Gymkhana as in Washington, DC or Beijing: The Prime Minister matters, the Vice-President doesn't.
So, it's not surprising that China should have taken offence, and made it clear that it feels offended, when the Prime Minister agreed to meet the Dalai Lama. Beijing views this as granting legitimacy to the Dalai Lama's claimed status as the undisputed leader of all Tibetans, whether living in exile or in their homeland, vested with both spiritual and temporal authority by "his people" of "his Tibet". Beijing's position is clear, unambiguous and asserted without any sense of either self-doubt or hint of apology: Tibet belongs to China, the people belong to both Tibet and China, and the Dalai Lama has no business to poke his nose into temporal affairs — for all practical purposes he is a persona non grata and the "splittist clique" he heads comprises anti-national elements.
We need not agree with that position. Indeed, history can be cited to contest China's claim on Tibet. But if we are to take a moral position, if we are to contest China's version of history, then we should have the courage and the wherewithal to stand by our conviction and be prepared to face the consequences. The Chinese have responded predictably by upping the ante on Jammu & Kashmir and denying a visa to Lt Gen BS Jaswal who heads the Northern Command. Whether the Chinese tit followed the Indian tat or it was the other way round is not quite clear because the visa is believed to have been denied in July while the Prime Minister met the Dalai Lama in August. But irrespective of the sequence, it is abundantly clear that Beijing has considerably lowered its threshold of tolerance and New Delhi has not exactly planned for a showdown.
To merely insist that "Jammu & Kashmir concerns our sovereignty and is as sensitive to us as Tibet is to them" is neither here nor there. That we are still reluctant to call a spade-a-spade, which China does without bothering about bruised egos — the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said Lt Gen Jaswal could not visit China for a scheduled defence-related programme "due to certain reasons" although those reasons are no secret — is indicative of our inherent weakness. Diplomacy in the 21st century is not about maudlin sentiments and polite niceties; it's about aggressively, unapologetically promoting, and securing, self-interest. China does that with great élan; we talk about "sensitivity to each other's concerns", a principle we tend to follow in the breach.
Since the Government of India has chosen to compare Jammu & Kashmir with Tibet — a needless comparison really because accession and annexation aren't one and the same — it would be in order to elaborate upon the comparison. What New Delhi has failed to achieve in 63 years, Beijing has achieved in 50 years. Jammu & Kashmir, more so the Valley, remains a running sore for India, threatening to turn septic every now and then, a cesspit teeming with avaricious politicians and corrupt officials where hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees in 'development aid' have disappeared over the decades with little or nothing to show by way of either development or securing India's strategic interests. In sharp contrast, as I witnessed during my visit to Lhasa earlier this month, Beijing has converted Tibet truly into an integral part of China. The Chinese Central Government has spent more than 100 billion yuan on just developing Tibet's infrastructure over the past five decades and every yuan has been well spent. It's not just roads and houses and hospitals and schools, or for that matter the Beijing-Lhasa rail link which is an engineering marvel, but the assertion of Chinese sovereignty over the Tibetan Autonomous Region which is at once impressive and instructive, especially for us in India.
Sixty-three years after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, we are still debating the constitutional status of Jammu & Kashmir. A succession of Prime Ministers, despairing at Kashmiri separatism, have offered 'autonomy' ranging from "anything short of azadi" to "azadi short of separation". Article 370 stands as a psychological and legal barrier between India and a State the Government of India claims to integral to India. China dealt with the issue of autonomy for Tibet by restricting it to protecting Tibetan culture (for instance, polyandry is allowed but not encouraged; the one-child norm is relaxed but there are incentives for those who shun the relaxation; lamas are left alone but monasteries are guarded by the PLA) and allowing participation in what we call the political process "under the leadership of the Central Government".
Most important of all, China does not restrict Chinese from settling in China's Tibet, unlike India restricting Indians from settling in India's Jammu & Kashmir. No, the Hans have not flooded Tibet, as is often alleged by the "splittist clique", but they are free to seek jobs, set up businesses, acquire and develop property, and invest in Tibet's economy, adding to the region's prosperity. While New Delhi has squandered time and opportunity talking about 'Kashmiriyat' and 'Insaniyat' and other such bunkum, Beijing has firmly established its supremacy over Tibet: Every signboard in Lhasa is in Tibetan, but superscribed in Mandarin. Every address ends with China. And nobody shouts — alright, make that nobody dares shout — "Go China, go back!"
[This appeared as my Sunday column, Coffee Break, in The Pioneer on August 29, 2010.)
Kanchan Gupta
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2009
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Whimpering India, assertive China
While New Delhi has floundered for 63 years on Jammu & Kashmir, Beijing has deftly made Tibet an integral part of China
On August 11, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ostensibly to thank him for "the good care India has taken of him and his followers living in exile for the past 50 years". The Dalai Lama's meeting with Mr Singh followed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao's visit to Dharamsala last month where she met the Tibetan spiritual leader and his senior aides. What transpired at that meeting is not known, but we can presume it was a routine discussion between the senior-most official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India's guests who would rather describe themselves as members of the 'Tibetan Government-in-Exile' which is based in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama's representative in New Delhi, Kalon Tempa Tsering, says too much should not be read into who called on whom where and when: "What's so unusual about the meeting? It is part of the Dalai Lama's regular interaction with Indian leaders "¦ He keeps meeting Indian leaders"¦ He met Vice-President Hamid Ansari a year ago."
Mr Ansari no doubt holds an exalted office; if the President's job were to fall vacant due to unforeseeable circumstances before Ms Pratibha Patil's tenure comes to an end, he would become the head of state, if only as a stop-gap measure. That apart, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he is not really important enough for the Government of the world's second largest economy to get into a lather over his meeting with the "splittist" Dalai Lama. New Delhi's pecking order is as well-known in the Gymkhana as in Washington, DC or Beijing: The Prime Minister matters, the Vice-President doesn't.
So, it's not surprising that China should have taken offence, and made it clear that it feels offended, when the Prime Minister agreed to meet the Dalai Lama. Beijing views this as granting legitimacy to the Dalai Lama's claimed status as the undisputed leader of all Tibetans, whether living in exile or in their homeland, vested with both spiritual and temporal authority by "his people" of "his Tibet". Beijing's position is clear, unambiguous and asserted without any sense of either self-doubt or hint of apology: Tibet belongs to China, the people belong to both Tibet and China, and the Dalai Lama has no business to poke his nose into temporal affairs — for all practical purposes he is a persona non grata and the "splittist clique" he heads comprises anti-national elements.
We need not agree with that position. Indeed, history can be cited to contest China's claim on Tibet. But if we are to take a moral position, if we are to contest China's version of history, then we should have the courage and the wherewithal to stand by our conviction and be prepared to face the consequences. The Chinese have responded predictably by upping the ante on Jammu & Kashmir and denying a visa to Lt Gen BS Jaswal who heads the Northern Command. Whether the Chinese tit followed the Indian tat or it was the other way round is not quite clear because the visa is believed to have been denied in July while the Prime Minister met the Dalai Lama in August. But irrespective of the sequence, it is abundantly clear that Beijing has considerably lowered its threshold of tolerance and New Delhi has not exactly planned for a showdown.
To merely insist that "Jammu & Kashmir concerns our sovereignty and is as sensitive to us as Tibet is to them" is neither here nor there. That we are still reluctant to call a spade-a-spade, which China does without bothering about bruised egos — the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said Lt Gen Jaswal could not visit China for a scheduled defence-related programme "due to certain reasons" although those reasons are no secret — is indicative of our inherent weakness. Diplomacy in the 21st century is not about maudlin sentiments and polite niceties; it's about aggressively, unapologetically promoting, and securing, self-interest. China does that with great élan; we talk about "sensitivity to each other's concerns", a principle we tend to follow in the breach.
Since the Government of India has chosen to compare Jammu & Kashmir with Tibet — a needless comparison really because accession and annexation aren't one and the same — it would be in order to elaborate upon the comparison. What New Delhi has failed to achieve in 63 years, Beijing has achieved in 50 years. Jammu & Kashmir, more so the Valley, remains a running sore for India, threatening to turn septic every now and then, a cesspit teeming with avaricious politicians and corrupt officials where hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees in 'development aid' have disappeared over the decades with little or nothing to show by way of either development or securing India's strategic interests. In sharp contrast, as I witnessed during my visit to Lhasa earlier this month, Beijing has converted Tibet truly into an integral part of China. The Chinese Central Government has spent more than 100 billion yuan on just developing Tibet's infrastructure over the past five decades and every yuan has been well spent. It's not just roads and houses and hospitals and schools, or for that matter the Beijing-Lhasa rail link which is an engineering marvel, but the assertion of Chinese sovereignty over the Tibetan Autonomous Region which is at once impressive and instructive, especially for us in India.
Sixty-three years after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, we are still debating the constitutional status of Jammu & Kashmir. A succession of Prime Ministers, despairing at Kashmiri separatism, have offered 'autonomy' ranging from "anything short of azadi" to "azadi short of separation". Article 370 stands as a psychological and legal barrier between India and a State the Government of India claims to integral to India. China dealt with the issue of autonomy for Tibet by restricting it to protecting Tibetan culture (for instance, polyandry is allowed but not encouraged; the one-child norm is relaxed but there are incentives for those who shun the relaxation; lamas are left alone but monasteries are guarded by the PLA) and allowing participation in what we call the political process "under the leadership of the Central Government".
Most important of all, China does not restrict Chinese from settling in China's Tibet, unlike India restricting Indians from settling in India's Jammu & Kashmir. No, the Hans have not flooded Tibet, as is often alleged by the "splittist clique", but they are free to seek jobs, set up businesses, acquire and develop property, and invest in Tibet's economy, adding to the region's prosperity. While New Delhi has squandered time and opportunity talking about 'Kashmiriyat' and 'Insaniyat' and other such bunkum, Beijing has firmly established its supremacy over Tibet: Every signboard in Lhasa is in Tibetan, but superscribed in Mandarin. Every address ends with China. And nobody shouts — alright, make that nobody dares shout — "Go China, go back!"
[This appeared as my Sunday column, Coffee Break, in The Pioneer on August 29, 2010.)
Kanchan Gupta
Whimpering India, assertive China
While New Delhi has floundered for 63 years on Jammu & Kashmir, Beijing has deftly made Tibet an integral part of China
On August 11, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ostensibly to thank him for "the good care India has taken of him and his followers living in exile for the past 50 years". The Dalai Lama's meeting with Mr Singh followed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao's visit to Dharamsala last month where she met the Tibetan spiritual leader and his senior aides. What transpired at that meeting is not known, but we can presume it was a routine discussion between the senior-most official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India's guests who would rather describe themselves as members of the 'Tibetan Government-in-Exile' which is based in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama's representative in New Delhi, Kalon Tempa Tsering, says too much should not be read into who called on whom where and when: "What's so unusual about the meeting? It is part of the Dalai Lama's regular interaction with Indian leaders "¦ He keeps meeting Indian leaders"¦ He met Vice-President Hamid Ansari a year ago."
Mr Ansari no doubt holds an exalted office; if the President's job were to fall vacant due to unforeseeable circumstances before Ms Pratibha Patil's tenure comes to an end, he would become the head of state, if only as a stop-gap measure. That apart, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he is not really important enough for the Government of the world's second largest economy to get into a lather over his meeting with the "splittist" Dalai Lama. New Delhi's pecking order is as well-known in the Gymkhana as in Washington, DC or Beijing: The Prime Minister matters, the Vice-President doesn't.
So, it's not surprising that China should have taken offence, and made it clear that it feels offended, when the Prime Minister agreed to meet the Dalai Lama. Beijing views this as granting legitimacy to the Dalai Lama's claimed status as the undisputed leader of all Tibetans, whether living in exile or in their homeland, vested with both spiritual and temporal authority by "his people" of "his Tibet". Beijing's position is clear, unambiguous and asserted without any sense of either self-doubt or hint of apology: Tibet belongs to China, the people belong to both Tibet and China, and the Dalai Lama has no business to poke his nose into temporal affairs — for all practical purposes he is a persona non grata and the "splittist clique" he heads comprises anti-national elements.
We need not agree with that position. Indeed, history can be cited to contest China's claim on Tibet. But if we are to take a moral position, if we are to contest China's version of history, then we should have the courage and the wherewithal to stand by our conviction and be prepared to face the consequences. The Chinese have responded predictably by upping the ante on Jammu & Kashmir and denying a visa to Lt Gen BS Jaswal who heads the Northern Command. Whether the Chinese tit followed the Indian tat or it was the other way round is not quite clear because the visa is believed to have been denied in July while the Prime Minister met the Dalai Lama in August. But irrespective of the sequence, it is abundantly clear that Beijing has considerably lowered its threshold of tolerance and New Delhi has not exactly planned for a showdown.
To merely insist that "Jammu & Kashmir concerns our sovereignty and is as sensitive to us as Tibet is to them" is neither here nor there. That we are still reluctant to call a spade-a-spade, which China does without bothering about bruised egos — the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said Lt Gen Jaswal could not visit China for a scheduled defence-related programme "due to certain reasons" although those reasons are no secret — is indicative of our inherent weakness. Diplomacy in the 21st century is not about maudlin sentiments and polite niceties; it's about aggressively, unapologetically promoting, and securing, self-interest. China does that with great élan; we talk about "sensitivity to each other's concerns", a principle we tend to follow in the breach.
Since the Government of India has chosen to compare Jammu & Kashmir with Tibet — a needless comparison really because accession and annexation aren't one and the same — it would be in order to elaborate upon the comparison. What New Delhi has failed to achieve in 63 years, Beijing has achieved in 50 years. Jammu & Kashmir, more so the Valley, remains a running sore for India, threatening to turn septic every now and then, a cesspit teeming with avaricious politicians and corrupt officials where hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees in 'development aid' have disappeared over the decades with little or nothing to show by way of either development or securing India's strategic interests. In sharp contrast, as I witnessed during my visit to Lhasa earlier this month, Beijing has converted Tibet truly into an integral part of China. The Chinese Central Government has spent more than 100 billion yuan on just developing Tibet's infrastructure over the past five decades and every yuan has been well spent. It's not just roads and houses and hospitals and schools, or for that matter the Beijing-Lhasa rail link which is an engineering marvel, but the assertion of Chinese sovereignty over the Tibetan Autonomous Region which is at once impressive and instructive, especially for us in India.
Sixty-three years after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, we are still debating the constitutional status of Jammu & Kashmir. A succession of Prime Ministers, despairing at Kashmiri separatism, have offered 'autonomy' ranging from "anything short of azadi" to "azadi short of separation". Article 370 stands as a psychological and legal barrier between India and a State the Government of India claims to integral to India. China dealt with the issue of autonomy for Tibet by restricting it to protecting Tibetan culture (for instance, polyandry is allowed but not encouraged; the one-child norm is relaxed but there are incentives for those who shun the relaxation; lamas are left alone but monasteries are guarded by the PLA) and allowing participation in what we call the political process "under the leadership of the Central Government".
Most important of all, China does not restrict Chinese from settling in China's Tibet, unlike India restricting Indians from settling in India's Jammu & Kashmir. No, the Hans have not flooded Tibet, as is often alleged by the "splittist clique", but they are free to seek jobs, set up businesses, acquire and develop property, and invest in Tibet's economy, adding to the region's prosperity. While New Delhi has squandered time and opportunity talking about 'Kashmiriyat' and 'Insaniyat' and other such bunkum, Beijing has firmly established its supremacy over Tibet: Every signboard in Lhasa is in Tibetan, but superscribed in Mandarin. Every address ends with China. And nobody shouts — alright, make that nobody dares shout — "Go China, go back!"
[This appeared as my Sunday column, Coffee Break, in The Pioneer on August 29, 2010.)
Kanchan Gupta
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A couple of issues come to mind.
Unfortunately, it appears that Pakistan is getting an upper hand on the issue of Kashmir.
Pakistan has clever manipulated the US to her way of seeing issues, given that the US is beholden to Pakistan for allowing her logistic access into Afghanistan, without which whatever the US and ISAF are doing or attempting to do would come to nought.
Pakistan has conveniently used the so called 'also under attack by terrorists' line to garner sympathy and making the international turn a Nelson's eye to Pakistan's shenanigans in Kashmir. The manner in which she has encouraged the secessionists with money and fundamentalist cla-ptrap and has been able to whip up a frenzy in Kashmir indicates that the US and western nations are not in the least concerned what happens to India. India, in its usual style, has gone on the backfoot and is tumbling head over heels to appease the terrorists and have even decided to do away with the AFSPA when it should have upped the ante so that the western nations are shaken out of their reverie to get worried that there could be another confrontation between the 'nuclear armed neighbours'. It would have indicated that India is not a nation to be trifled with and that it can go so far and no more.
While the world complains there are human rights problems in J&K, it is interesting to note that Pakistan does not allow foreigners to even go the Northern Area, where there is a blanket ban. Atrocities are rampant in the Northern Area and the Shias are being displaced and the world turns a blind eye!!!! Yet, they are so vociferous about Kashmir, where foreigners and foreign media have total access.
At times, I feel China is correct. They do what they want and they damn the world telling them to take a hike.
In so far as the Chinese presence, China may claim that they are not soldiers, but are merely workers who are there for construction. That is not being very truthful. The PLA has always been in the forefront for construction all over China and more recently in Tibet and other outlining areas. They, thus, continue to be soldiers and by operating in such area are also getting an intimate knowledge of the area which they can put to good use if required at a later date.
The naval ports constructed by China in Pakistan that are close to the Gulf are dangerous moves in so far as the free world is concerned. China can mount a blockade from here of the Straits of Hormuz through which the bulk of the world's oil flows. Therefore, the US will have to mount a greater naval task force in this area to thwart Chinese designs.
In short, a cauldron awaits the world in this area.
The nub of the issue is that Pakistan is on a reckless course without any sense of responsibility. India and the world must play its role before it is too late
Unfortunately, it appears that Pakistan is getting an upper hand on the issue of Kashmir.
Pakistan has clever manipulated the US to her way of seeing issues, given that the US is beholden to Pakistan for allowing her logistic access into Afghanistan, without which whatever the US and ISAF are doing or attempting to do would come to nought.
Pakistan has conveniently used the so called 'also under attack by terrorists' line to garner sympathy and making the international turn a Nelson's eye to Pakistan's shenanigans in Kashmir. The manner in which she has encouraged the secessionists with money and fundamentalist cla-ptrap and has been able to whip up a frenzy in Kashmir indicates that the US and western nations are not in the least concerned what happens to India. India, in its usual style, has gone on the backfoot and is tumbling head over heels to appease the terrorists and have even decided to do away with the AFSPA when it should have upped the ante so that the western nations are shaken out of their reverie to get worried that there could be another confrontation between the 'nuclear armed neighbours'. It would have indicated that India is not a nation to be trifled with and that it can go so far and no more.
While the world complains there are human rights problems in J&K, it is interesting to note that Pakistan does not allow foreigners to even go the Northern Area, where there is a blanket ban. Atrocities are rampant in the Northern Area and the Shias are being displaced and the world turns a blind eye!!!! Yet, they are so vociferous about Kashmir, where foreigners and foreign media have total access.
At times, I feel China is correct. They do what they want and they damn the world telling them to take a hike.
In so far as the Chinese presence, China may claim that they are not soldiers, but are merely workers who are there for construction. That is not being very truthful. The PLA has always been in the forefront for construction all over China and more recently in Tibet and other outlining areas. They, thus, continue to be soldiers and by operating in such area are also getting an intimate knowledge of the area which they can put to good use if required at a later date.
The naval ports constructed by China in Pakistan that are close to the Gulf are dangerous moves in so far as the free world is concerned. China can mount a blockade from here of the Straits of Hormuz through which the bulk of the world's oil flows. Therefore, the US will have to mount a greater naval task force in this area to thwart Chinese designs.
In short, a cauldron awaits the world in this area.
The nub of the issue is that Pakistan is on a reckless course without any sense of responsibility. India and the world must play its role before it is too late
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2009
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A couple of issues come to mind.
Unfortunately, it appears that Pakistan is getting an upper hand on the issue of Kashmir.
Pakistan has clever manipulated the US to her way of seeing issues, given that the US is beholden to Pakistan for allowing her logistic access into Afghanistan, without which whatever the US and ISAF are doing or attempting to do would come to nought.
Pakistan has conveniently used the so called 'also under attack by terrorists' line to garner sympathy and making the international turn a Nelson's eye to Pakistan's shenanigans in Kashmir. The manner in which she has encouraged the secessionists with money and fundamentalist cla-ptrap and has been able to whip up a frenzy in Kashmir indicates that the US and western nations are not in the least concerned what happens to India. India, in its usual style, has gone on the backfoot and is tumbling head over heels to appease the terrorists and have even decided to do away with the AFSPA when it should have upped the ante so that the western nations are shaken out of their reverie to get worried that there could be another confrontation between the 'nuclear armed neighbours'. It would have indicated that India is not a nation to be trifled with and that it can go so far and no more.
While the world complains there are human rights problems in J&K, it is interesting to note that Pakistan does not allow foreigners to even go the Northern Area, where there is a blanket ban. Atrocities are rampant in the Northern Area and the Shias are being displaced and the world turns a blind eye!!!! Yet, they are so vociferous about Kashmir, where foreigners and foreign media have total access.
At times, I feel China is correct. They do what they want and they damn the world telling them to take a hike.
In so far as the Chinese presence, China may claim that they are not soldiers, but are merely workers who are there for construction. That is not being very truthful. The PLA has always been in the forefront for construction all over China and more recently in Tibet and other outlining areas. They, thus, continue to be soldiers and by operating in such area are also getting an intimate knowledge of the area which they can put to good use if required at a later date.
The naval ports constructed by China in Pakistan that are close to the Gulf are dangerous moves in so far as the free world is concerned. China can mount a blockade from here of the Straits of Hormuz through which the bulk of the world's oil flows. Therefore, the US will have to mount a greater naval task force in this area to thwart Chinese designs.
In short, a cauldron awaits the world in this area.
The nub of the issue is that Pakistan is on a reckless course without any sense of responsibility. India and the world must play its role before it is too late
Unfortunately, it appears that Pakistan is getting an upper hand on the issue of Kashmir.
Pakistan has clever manipulated the US to her way of seeing issues, given that the US is beholden to Pakistan for allowing her logistic access into Afghanistan, without which whatever the US and ISAF are doing or attempting to do would come to nought.
Pakistan has conveniently used the so called 'also under attack by terrorists' line to garner sympathy and making the international turn a Nelson's eye to Pakistan's shenanigans in Kashmir. The manner in which she has encouraged the secessionists with money and fundamentalist cla-ptrap and has been able to whip up a frenzy in Kashmir indicates that the US and western nations are not in the least concerned what happens to India. India, in its usual style, has gone on the backfoot and is tumbling head over heels to appease the terrorists and have even decided to do away with the AFSPA when it should have upped the ante so that the western nations are shaken out of their reverie to get worried that there could be another confrontation between the 'nuclear armed neighbours'. It would have indicated that India is not a nation to be trifled with and that it can go so far and no more.
While the world complains there are human rights problems in J&K, it is interesting to note that Pakistan does not allow foreigners to even go the Northern Area, where there is a blanket ban. Atrocities are rampant in the Northern Area and the Shias are being displaced and the world turns a blind eye!!!! Yet, they are so vociferous about Kashmir, where foreigners and foreign media have total access.
At times, I feel China is correct. They do what they want and they damn the world telling them to take a hike.
In so far as the Chinese presence, China may claim that they are not soldiers, but are merely workers who are there for construction. That is not being very truthful. The PLA has always been in the forefront for construction all over China and more recently in Tibet and other outlining areas. They, thus, continue to be soldiers and by operating in such area are also getting an intimate knowledge of the area which they can put to good use if required at a later date.
The naval ports constructed by China in Pakistan that are close to the Gulf are dangerous moves in so far as the free world is concerned. China can mount a blockade from here of the Straits of Hormuz through which the bulk of the world's oil flows. Therefore, the US will have to mount a greater naval task force in this area to thwart Chinese designs.
In short, a cauldron awaits the world in this area.
The nub of the issue is that Pakistan is on a reckless course without any sense of responsibility. India and the world must play its role before it is too late
- Joined
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Bad kid
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funniest stuff ever!! better then a adam sandler movie... black comedy ROFL..
Just for spoiling the fun... G.B is a province of Pakistan and has a elected chief minister!there r no such movements there and nor the people r kashmiri rather Balti who speak sheena... my uncle is married there!
NLI is wholely comprising of people frm the region and literacy rate is highest in the region as compaired to other part of the country!
And there is no army present in the region!except a command tht is located on the borders not even in the cities rofl!
Rather lie abt the Pakistani flag tht was hoisted on the clock tower in sri nagar on eid!Also today 13 kashmiri youngsters were killed by indians today!!
Stop killing innocent and rapping the HUMANITY:angry_10:
Just for spoiling the fun... G.B is a province of Pakistan and has a elected chief minister!there r no such movements there and nor the people r kashmiri rather Balti who speak sheena... my uncle is married there!
NLI is wholely comprising of people frm the region and literacy rate is highest in the region as compaired to other part of the country!
And there is no army present in the region!except a command tht is located on the borders not even in the cities rofl!
Rather lie abt the Pakistani flag tht was hoisted on the clock tower in sri nagar on eid!Also today 13 kashmiri youngsters were killed by indians today!!
Stop killing innocent and rapping the HUMANITY:angry_10:
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so you only show up here when people are killed so you can take moral high ground ?
how many bomb blasts in land of pure this month ? 1,2,3...? ive lost count. and you have audacity to lecture others.
how many bomb blasts in land of pure this month ? 1,2,3...? ive lost count. and you have audacity to lecture others.
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'Bad Kid', eh?
You may want to take a look at what's happening in Pakistani-occupied-Kashmir:
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Joblessness drives GILGIT YOUTHS to SUICIDE | Ekawaaz - One Voice - Many Issues : News Views and Reviews
And you may also want to take a look at this very rich thread:
http://www.defenceforum.in/forum/pakistan-defence-affairs/10304.htm
You may want to take a look at what's happening in Pakistani-occupied-Kashmir:
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Joblessness drives GILGIT YOUTHS to SUICIDE | Ekawaaz - One Voice - Many Issues : News Views and Reviews
And you may also want to take a look at this very rich thread:
http://www.defenceforum.in/forum/pakistan-defence-affairs/10304.htm
- Joined
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