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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| It's not India vs China anymore ("India is not part of any so-called 'contain China' effort") |
| 2008-01-16 |
| Note that our guys also routinely say we're not part of any "contain" China effort. But we're beefing up the Pacific Fleet, anyway. Just in case. The India vs China syndrome is passe? From now, the global idiom for joint collaborative action will be India-China, says India's Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, alluding to the growing friendship between the Asian giants. On return from a visit to China accompanying Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Nath said the engagement with Beijing was an important milestone bilaterally as the two rising economic powers set an ambitious trade target of $60 billion by 2010 - three times the goal set just five years ago. "The engagement was important in the global context as well," Nath told IANS. Much of the global discourse, on trade or climate change, has centred around the fact that the two countries were experiencing steady economic growth - China at 10 per cent and India at 9 - and accounted for a third of the global population. But the two neighbours were also seen by the world as adversarial powers with competing claims to the world's riches, scarce resources and also global pre-eminence - a perception which Dr Manmohan Singh's visit sought to change. There had also been speculation in the Western world about India lending itself to co-option as a buffer in a US-sponsored strategic plan to "contain" China's growing military and economic ambitions. But the Indian prime minister, himself a great admirer of China's success story, insisted he would have no part in any alliance with the US, Australia and Japan aimed at "containing China". "I have made it clear to the Chinese leadership that India is not part of any so-called 'contain China' effort," Dr Singh was quoted as saying in Beijing. He was opting out of notions that New Delhi might, alongside Australia, the US and Japan, become a part of a new "quadrilateral" strategic pact conceived by Tokyo's former prime minister Shinzo Abe before his resignation. But the "quadrilateral" concept has had little traction since then, and Dr Singh's rejection Sunday suggested it might be stillborn. "Solid sustained growth of India and China was only in the nature of being an international public good," the prime minister said, especially at a time when uncertainty gripped the world economy amid fears of recession in US and Japan. The prime minister said growth would not only help India and China but the global economy as a whole. Nath, a strong and influential voice for the developed world in the global trade talks, said the global economic agenda in the future could well be set by India and China - a far cry from the days when the world would say: "When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold". He said while the world viewed China and India as rivals in many respects, the two countries were pushing for energy and infrastructure projects in Africa and Latin America, and could drive the growth of these two regions in the future. There is no doubt Dr Singh, who visited Beijing for the first time and saw showpiece infrastructure projects of the Olympic Games, has come back an ardent admirer of China for the way it was managing its developmental problems. "China has become the world's manufacturing workshop. It's a phenomenal story and that is what development should be about," the prime minister told the accompanying media team. "China's achievements are quite remarkable. There is a lot we can learn." Nath, on his part, is convinced this was the "most successful" of official visits that Manmohan Singh had made to date since the reform-minded economist-turned-politician became the nation's prime minister in May 2004. "The Chinese regarded him highly, with Premier Wen Jiabao even telling him that he was the most popular of global figures among the Chinese netizens as a recent survey showed," the trade minister said. This was reflected in Chinese leaders breaking protocol to show their personal regard and admiration for him - like when Wen came out of the state guesthouse in the freezing cold of Beijing to see off Dr Manmohan Singh. Ahead of a meeting with Dr Singh in November 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao had remarked: "When India and China and shake hands, the whole world will sit up and watch." The Indian leadership now firmly believes the time for such an impact has arrived. |
| Posted by:Zhang Fei |
| #12 FYI - this was posted by an Indian in response to a Chinese poster who felt that India might ally with China against the US: The Chinese Freepers are among the most naive people I have seen anywhere. Indians behave like good guests...tell their hosts exactly what they want to hear and then they will do what they will. India and China will never be “friends”. It maybe true that India wont be America’s scape goat, we can’t help America contain China. From our perspective, we need America’s help to contain China...note the difference? Stop dreaming silly of a grand alliance against the USA with China in command, it will never happen and India will not be part of such an alliance. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-01-16 21:18 |
| #11 And bear in mind that this is not some fringe paper. It is one of the major newspapers in India. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-01-16 20:37 |
| #10 A typical report (today's issue of "The Hindu") IndiaÂ’s tilt towards U.S. criticised at CPI (M) meet KOLKATA: The need to bolster the resistance against the CentreÂ’s tilt towards imperialist forces in its foreign policy and the impact of these forces on national affairs was underscored at the delegate session of the 22nd State ... |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-01-16 20:24 |
| #9 Here is an example... this is on the the Hindu's main website right now. India and China: A shared vision for the 21st Century India and China - a Harmony of Civilizations CPC Central Committee report full text resolution (that's right.. the full text of the Chinese communists party's central committee report. I wonder if even Chinese newspapers carry this nonsense) India-US 123 Agreement: Full Text (pdf) | Manmohan statement in Lok Sabha | CPI (M) Polit Bureau statement | CPI (M) Central Committee resolution (anti-US drivel from the Indian communists) 'Model code violation': Unanimous decision of Election Commission - Full text (they hate the Hindu nationalists also) |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-01-16 20:22 |
| #8 Yep. A disproportionate number of Indian journalists are the product of JNU, where the majority of students describe themselves as Marxists. Papers like 'The Hindu' are run by card carrying members of the communist party of India. The Hindu regularly reports, quite seriously, about the deliberations of the 'CPI Politburo'. The Indian constitution was changed in the 70's to describe India as a "socialist state". No political party in India may register for elections if it does not "ascribe to the principles of socialism". A recent court challenge to this constitutional article was dismissed because the judges felt that socialism could mean anything, including social welfare. They are still considering the election law challenge. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-01-16 20:14 |
| #7 TOPIX/WAFF [paraph]> INDIA, CHINA DEEPENING TIES MAY NOT ONLY CHANGE THE FACE OF ASIA, BUT CAN CHANGE THE FACE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD. All together now, wid feeling, "And RUSSIA/PUTIN"??? *THE MOSCOW TIMES > PUTIN WILL ACCEPT BEING MEDVEDEV'S PREMIER, should the latter formally win = take over the PRESIDENCY OF RUSSIA. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-01-16 19:12 |
| #6 JF: China still claims an entire Indian state and occupies a big chunk of Kashmir. It has begun forays into India and Bhutan. The Indian Elephant will not forget this, no matter what the politicians say in public. The IAF is moving Su-30 fighters to airbases near China and the IA has moved an entire division of mountain warfare troops into theater. Just about every college reporter I knew was a communist in all but name. As far as I'm concerned, American journalists are a bunch of communists. Are Indian journalists pretty much communists, as well? |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-01-16 19:05 |
| #5 China still claims an entire Indian state and occupies a big chunk of Kashmir. It has begun forays into India and Bhutan. The Indian Elephant will not forget this, no matter what the politicians say in public. The IAF is moving Su-30 fighters to airbases near China and the IA has moved an entire division of mountain warfare troops into theater. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-01-16 18:28 |
| #4 I think India's intent is to sell lots of those new Nano cars to China. Play nice, and then get a deal with a commissar to build them locally, and reap the profits. I think that Chinese train to the border is designed to allow Chinese to move into Tibet and smother the local culture. A war in the Himilayas is insane and the Chinese have territorial claims in almost every other direction to work on first. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-01-16 18:18 |
| #3 I think India's intent is to play nice until their military is a lot better. They are still very aware that China tub-thumped them in their last dispute, and is currently able and willing to do it again. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-01-16 18:07 |
| #2 We're going to be playing the Indian and China cards the rest of this century, or at least the first half of it, the way we used to play the Russian and China cards. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-01-16 17:12 |
| #1 that's good, then. I guess that "tourist" train China's building to the border will carry goodwill troops? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-16 16:45 |