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Appendix – A

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Analysts like Robert Kaplan say that while government is an aid to development

in China, it is a hindrance in India. Your comments please.

2. Even after 60 years, many feel that the 1962 Indo-China war could have been

averted by Nehru. Do you agree?

3. Do you think that the deployment of armed forces near the Line of Actual

Control in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in

1980s was merely a precautionary step to prevent cross-border intrusions or

aimed at demonstrating the strength of India?

4. Do you think that India has received positive responses from China for the

initiatives taken by her for improving the bilateral relations? If not, what do you

think are the possible reasons?

5. When US and other developed countries did not recognise PRC, what made

India recognise it early?

6. Considering that China never accepted the McMahon line as the international

border with India, is her stand on Arunachal Pradesh or Aksai Chin justified?

7. China’s decision to fund multi-million-dollar project of Karakoram highway

linking Pakistan and China is seen as a growing nexus between them. How do

you think it might affect Indian position in Asia?

8. Chinese officials often said that Indian media is giving unnecessary hype to

border disputes. Do you agree?

9. Border disputes between India and China are often seen as eternal problems

creating mutual mistrust between them. Do you agree?

10. Considering that resolving of border issues between any two countries is a

complex task and any country making concessions would be doing so against the

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public support, should the border issues determine the larger interests of India

and China?

11. According to you, what is the impact of the shift of global environment from

bipolar to uni-polar on Sino-Indian relations?

12. Which of the aspects do you think are actually influencing the bilateral relations

today between India and China- political or military?

13. Has India’s decision to offer asylum to Dalai Lama seriously affected her

relations with China?

14. Do you think that the changed political and economic scenario in China and

India had improved political relationship between them?

15. Today there is a talk that the balance of trade is heavily tilted towards China

which is importing raw materials and is flooding the markets outside with her

finished goods. How would this affect Indian economy, and her relationship with

China?

16. What kind of trading pattern between India and China would improve their

relations with each other?

17. What kind of economic ties should India develop with other countries to counter

her trade imbalance with China?

18. What, in your opinion, are the reasons for China opposing time and again the

aspirations of India getting a permanent seat in the Security Council?

19. What, in your opinion, are two major initiatives that India could take to improve

the bilateral relations with China?

20. China claims that it has diverted People’s Liberation Army Navy towards deep

seas purely for protecting her economic interests. Do you agree?

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21. If the measures being taken by China in protecting her economic interests by

developing its Navy are rational and essential, why similar measures were not

contemplated by India so far?

22. In some sections of American and European media, the PLA navy is not full-

fledged Blue Water Navy, and thus need not be feared. Your comments please.

23. Globally it is opined that the ‘rivalry’ between India and China is destroying the

peace and tranquillity of the Indian Ocean Region. Do you agree?

24. China has set up bases in Indian Ocean littoral states some of which are quite

close to Indian coast (metaphorically called String of Pearls), such as Coco

Islands in Myanmar. How should India react to this?

25. China is resorting to application of ‘Soft Power’ through diplomacy, financial

aid, and assisting in construction of ports in other neighbouring states of India.

How should India respond to this?

26. China has reiterated that Indian Ocean does not belong to India, just because of

the name. Recently even America has said the same. How could you interpret

this?

27. How true is the triangular nexus between China, Pakistan and the US as a

strategy against India?

28. India has brought out its first Maritime Doctrine in the year 2004. Does this fact

imply that we had neglected the development factor of our navy for long?

29. The allocation of budget outlay to the Indian Defence forces in the last five years

has gone up from one lakh mark to two crore mark (in Indian Rupees) in

numbers. But this is less than one-third of China’s military outlay. What does it

imply?

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30. China is said to be investing in R&D on a large scale with an aim to develop

indigenous capability for building and modernising its naval infrastructure while

India is still said to be highly dependent on import of technology and equipment.

How could this affect the preparedness of our navy?

31. Do you think that India’s naval power would ever match with Chinese naval

power? If so, in how many years?

32. Is Indian Maritime Doctrine successful in identifying all the areas of concern for

India and the strategies to effectively address them?

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Appendix – B

RESPONDENT’S PROFILE

01. Balaji Chandramohan -Visiting Fellow at Future Directions International,

New Delhi.

Past- Consultant at National Human Rights Commission, Volunteer for BJP’s

IT and Media Cell at Bharatiya Janata Party, International and Disability

Officer at the Waikato Institute of Technology.

Specialities: Foreign Policy and the relationship between constitutional

structures of states and their capacity to exert strategic power in international

affairs.

Previous Publications: 1. Relevance of SAARC in a multi-polar world.

Foreign Policy Research Centre, Journal Issue No.9, 2012 pp 279-282. 2.

China and USA – a future Cold War, World Security Network Newsletter, 26

July 2010, www.worldsecuritynetwork, accessed on 05-06-2012. 3. The Pacific

Paradigm. Defense Management Journal Issue No. 55, October 2011. 4. Fifty

years after the Sino-Indian Conflict, Will the “Asian Century” see a New

Confrontation? Published in Future Directions International Strategic Analysis,

25 October 2012, www.futuredirections.org.au, accessed on 30-12-2012. 5.

Indian Special Forces – An Evolving Approach, Future Directions International

Strategic Analysis, 28 March 2013, www.futuredirections.org.au, accessed on

05-04-2013.

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02. Daniel Fiott- Doctoral Researcher at Institute for European Studies, Vrije

University of Brussels.

Past-Research Fellow at Madariaga –College of Europe Foundation,

Programme Associate Intern at International Security Information Service

Europe, Communications Volunteer at Friends of the Earth International.

Specialities: European Union’s Common Foreign and Security

Policy/Common Security and Defence Policy; International Relations and

strategic questions arising from global power shifts.

Previous Publications: 1. China’s PLAN: Securing Supplies and Sailing into

Blue Waters? Madariaga paper, Vol. 2 No.6, December 2009. 2. Natural

Resources and Conflict in Africa, Research report for the European

commission, (2009), grant No. PBP: 2008/2-003, pp.30 (&Malgarini, M). 3.

The Responsibility to Protect: Sovereignty, Political Will and Capabilities,

ISIS Europe European Security Review, No. 39, (2008): pp 6-11. 4. Carr’s

Quest: Escaping the ‘Rules’ of International Relations? Conference paper

delivered at the 3rd

European consortium for Political Research Graduate

Conference, (31 August 2010), Dublin, Ireland: pp 18.

03. Harsh V. Pant – Adjunct (non-resident) fellow with the Wadhwani Chair at

Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and a reader in International

Relations in the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London, an

associate at the Centre for Science and Security Studies and the India Institute

at King’s College, London.

Past – visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore; a

visiting fellow at the Center for the Advanced Study of India-University of

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Pennsylvania; visiting scholar at the Center for International Peace and

Security Studies McGill University.

Specialities: International Relations Theory, Security Studies, Proliferation of

Weapons of Mass Destruction, Asia-Pacific Security, South Asian Politics.

Previous Publications: 1. The China Syndrome: Grappling with and Uneasy

Relationship, Harper Collins India in a Joint venture with India Today Group,

New Delhi, 2010. 2. China’s Rising Global Profile: The Great Power Tradition,

Sussex Academic Press, UK, 2011. 3. The Rise of China: Implications for

India, Cambridge University Press, India Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi, 2012. 4. The

Rise of Indian Navy: Internal Vulnerabilities: External Challenges, Ashgate

Publishing Co. UK, November 2012.

04. Dr. B.K. Mishra – Director-Centre for Studies in International Relations and

Development (CSIRD), Visiting Fellow at Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute

of Asian Studies, Kolkata. A Phd from JNU New Delhi.

Currently working on Sino-Indian competition for strategic peace in South

and Southeast Asia.

Specialities: Traditional and Non-traditional security issues in south and

Southeast Asia, and diaspora studies.

Previous Publications: 1. Road from Kolkata to Kunming? The Times of

India, Published on 27 November 2012, 2. “Looking at Nathu La through the

Security Prism”, in “Sikkim’s Tryst with Nathu La: What Awaits India’s East

and North East?”, Anshah publishing house, Kolkata, 2009. 3. Modernity on

Trial: nationhood and nationalism in South Asia, in Representing Modernities:

Perspectives on Polity, Society, Culture and Economy, Setu Prokashoni,

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Kolkata, 2009. 4. Chinese Eyes on Brahmaputra Waters, Look East, 2010. 5.

Security Implications of Great India-Myanmar Interaction, Indian Foreign

Affairs Journal, vol.4, Issue 2m April-June 2009.

05. Dr. Subhash Kapila – Retd. Brigadier, Army, Columnist of “Plain Speak” in

www.boloji.com, which features analyses on foreign policy topics; strategic

issues and political developments with a special focus of India and its

neighbourhood; strategic and military issues of global significance.

Past – graduate of the Royal British Army Staff College, a Masters in Defence

Science in Madras University and a PhD in Strategic Studies Allahabad

University, accomplished diplomatic assignments in various countries,

participated in national seminars; and interviews by CNN, BBC etc.

Specialities: foreign policy issues, strategic affairs for think-tanks, professional

contribution to noted journals.

Previous Publications: 1. India’s Defence Policies and Strategic Thought: A

Comparative Analysis, Simsid books, India, 2003. 2. Some of the titles of the

column “Plain Speak”-of www.boloji.com, are:- China sharply Etches anti-

Indian Hostility Deeper; China is No friend of India; China Paranoid over

Dalai Lama; China-Pakistan Military Nexus Formally in Indian Strategic

Planning; China Reasserts Antagonistic Postures Against India, etc.

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Appendix – C

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES RECEIVED FOR THE

QUESTIONNAIRE

1 Analysts like Robert Kaplan say that while government is an aid to

development in China, it is a hindrance in India. Your comments please.

Bob (Kaplan) has a critical view of India. One need to ask: Development at

what cost? Certainly the Government in China is an aid to development but

with huge cost to the citizens. Thankfully, in India, government tries to take

people along with it in promoting development.

B.K.Mishra

It’s not so as India which has modelled its politico-bureaucratic structure

based on the British model which has at times not suited perfectly to our

country as differences in the cultures which has absolved the structure.

China’s history and evolution is different compared to India and there is

more continuation to the politico-military-bureaucratic structure to the host

society which has enabled it absolve the changes perfectly to the

contemporary times.

Balaji Chandramohan

I suppose that Kaplan is making a veiled point about authoritarian

government having an advantage over democratic governments in pushing

forward the development of a country. I think there are a number of

examples which support this argument – think of Singapore in the past.

However, we also have examples pointing to the contrary – think of the

Soviet Union. India and China share the problem that they are huge

geographical spaces, and thus governance for the purposes of development

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becomes crucial. Democracy may be messy, development may take longer,

but it has a built in “change” mechanism, which a more authoritarian system

does not. Indeed, from what I gather the Chinese leadership is interested in

moving towards a system with less corruption. Democracy is not a silver

bullet for corruption, but it certainly helps. Furthermore, it seems to my

mind that inequalities in India and China are pretty similar – they may even

be getting wider in China with their economic growth – although we hear

more about India’s inequalities than we do China’s because it is a

democracy.

Fiott

I agree

Harsh V.Pant

2 Even after 60 years, many feel that the 1962 Indo-China war could have

been averted by Nehru. Do you agree?

I agree it could have been averted but not only by Nehru. Others (the

Chinese) are equally responsible for the war.

B.K.Mishra

Much talk and written work has gone into the 1962 Sino-Indian War. But

it’s not a war to start with it’s just a border skirmish involving just 1 division

of the Indian army. India has not fought a major war fully under its own

government ever. Indian soldiers did fight wars in various theatres of the

First World War, Second World War and even before that under the British

even in China but most of our political leaders don’t have experience till

now in military-strategic affairs and the military Generals at that time during

the Sino-Indian War never had much experience in understanding the

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complex operation problems involved. Second, I don’t think any Indian

political leader till this date has any clear strategic objectives as shown by

Nehru which of course didn’t succeed but to hold him account for that

border incident is far too much in pure military terms. Let’s not forget if

India would have faced a two-front land war in 1962 from Pakistan and

China it would have had dire straits for us. It’s because of Nehru’s skilful

diplomacy with Pakistan that helped us not to be invaded from all sides.

Balaji Chandramohan

Yes

Harsh V.Pant

3 Do you think that the deployment of armed forces near the Line of Actual

Control in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by Prime Minister Indira

Gandhi in 1980s was merely a precautionary step to prevent cross-border

intrusions or aimed at demonstrating the strength of India?

It was a legitimate and cautious military manoeuvre by India.

B.K.Mishra

Let’s be clear on this. India alone can’t win a major war with China and

Indira Gandhi must be aware of that. But she exhibited her resolve at times

which comes if you understand the personalities that they carry when they

occupy the post. But too much should be not read for better understanding of

strategic and operational problems involved in actually exhibiting such a

thought

Balaji Chandramohan

Aimed at demonstrating India’s strength

Harsh V.Pant

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4 Do you think that India has received positive responses from China for the

initiatives taken by her for improving the bilateral relations? If not, what

do you think are the possible reasons?

China has been more than responsive in economic matters. But matters

related to the border or territory it is stubborn.

B.K.Mishra

It’s complex to read on what Chinese thinks. Their strategic objectives are

different and I’m sure they don’t actually take India that seriously in terms

of our military capabilities and both India and China have never fought a

major war ever in history despite being so close to each other. China’s

strategic reach is challenged by Japan, Russia, the United States and in fact

Vietnam so therefore I’m not quite buying the idea of Sino-Indian military

conflict or economic ties from a Chinese angle though from our side we

need to keep engaging with China.

Balaji Chandramohan

I think China has been relatively pleased to deal with India bi-laterally,

especially given the potential security risks between the two countries. This

being said, the China-India relationship is about more than security – the two

countries are still more interested in sustaining economic growth and

improving trade ties. Two relationships matter in international relations: i)

relations with the US; ii) relations with your neighbours. This is true for both

India and China.

Fiott

No

Harsh V.Pant

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5 When US and other developed countries did not recognise PRC, what

made India recognise it early?

India’s faith in neighbourhood and respect to various ideologies. On a

broader basis India believed in Asian solidarity.

B.K.Mishra

India’s strategic priorities after Independence were aimed at maintaining

close relations with most of the power blocks whether it was Soviet Union,

the United States, PRC or even the countries which don’t want to be within

any power blocks. Therefore, it was logical that India extended the hand of

friendship to China.

Balaji Chandramohan

A complex question but a large part of the answer must be the whole non-

aligned movement issue.

Fiott

6 Considering that China never accepted the McMahon line as the

international border with India, is her stand on Arunachal Pradesh or

Aksai Chin justified?

No

B.K.Mishra

China doesn’t accept the word borders as it’s defined. Let’s not get worried

on what China thinks about Aksai Chin or Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal

Pradesh is there with India therefore it should be considered as one by the

Chinese. If they don’t want to accept they have the right to do so.

Balaji Chandramohan

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7 China’s decision to fund multi-million-dollar project of Karakoram

highway linking Pakistan and China is seen as a growing nexus between

them. How do you think it might affect Indian position in Asia?

The China Pakistan nexus is not new and not limited to this highway only.

Their all weather friendship is well known. Indian position in Asia is much

better than that of China in terms of acceptability. All India needs to do is to

articulate her interests and pursue policies accordingly.

B.K.Mishra

It’s purely India’s mistake till this date to see Pakistan as a major security

threat and not China. We should have developed better relations with

Pakistan than bullying them and if that would have happened Pakistan would

have not joined the Sino-American axis during the Cold War which in fact

has not helped Pakistan’s case also in any way. Pakistan will play a clever

game by not joining either China or the United States in the years to come

and I think India in fact should follow Pakistan’s example in developing a

coherent diplomatic stance to the new Cold War between the US and China.

India will not lose anything if there is going to be a highway connecting

Pakistan and China.

Balaji Chandramohan

Pakistan offers China strategic depth, and the Chinese know of the

Pakistan-Indian history. There is nothing new in China trying to exploit

such divisions.

Fiott

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8 Chinese officials often said that Indian media is giving unnecessary hype to

border disputes. Do you agree?

The Chinese are alien to the concept of free media and media criticism so

any adverse mention in media is called hype.

B.K.Mishra

Certainly, we have graduated to play a major role as a military Great Power

and unnecessarily worried about certain border disputes which even the

other countries are not that worried per se.

Balaji Chandramohan

Media reports are always silly in these matters. China’s media has also given

unnecessary hype to the Senkaku Islands dispute. Authoritarian regimes tend

to fear media reports.

Fiott

There is some truth to it but Chinese incursions have also increased

Harsh V.Pant

9 Border disputes between India and China are often seen as eternal

problems creating mutual mistrust between them. Do you agree?

Yes

B.K.Mishra

I think the above answer holds good here also

Balaji Chandramohan

Border disputes can be overcome, but they are very sensitive issues.

Generally speaking borders in themselves will not be the cause of conflict.

We should all hope that economic growth continues in India and China,

because if there is a real and long-term slump in growth and development

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then there might be trouble.

Fiott

Yes

Harsh V.Pant

10 Considering that resolving of border issues between any two countries is a

complex task and any country making concessions would be doing so

against the public support, should the border issues determine the larger

interests of India and China?

All both India and China need to do is to live happily with the status quo.

We are living with the status quo but are just not happy. Both need to accept

and stay happy with the present arrangement.

B.K.Mishra

China never thinks in that way to start with. I’m sure China is not concerned

either about India’s military might or the border issue. Their strategic

priorities are challenges from Russia, the United States and Japan in that

order.

Balaji Chandramohan

As I said above, I do think that the border issue is the real cause of the

problem. Borders link in with broader systemic questions to do with

development and security – they can be a trigger for broader antagonisms.

Fiott

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11 According to you, what is the impact of the shift of global environment

from bipolar to uni-polar on Sino-Indian relations?

Global environment is not uni-polar. In Theoretical terms it is an incomplete

nuclear diffusion system in which the role of India and China is crucial.

They are independent variables in contemporary global politics.

B.K.Mishra

I think India is under an obligation for it to be called a Great Power to

develop its own military might which can project its power in a bi-polar or

uni-polar or multi-polar world but I think we have still developed that

thinking so far and buying concepts which are quite irrelevant such as bi-

polar or uni-polar or multi-polar world in which we are not going to play

any major role until we start leveraging on our military power outside.

Balaji Chandramohan

Do we live in a uni-polar environment? I would argue that multi-polarity

best fits the picture, but even this is a testable claim. The good thing about

the shift away from unipolarity is that emerging countries such as China and

India realise that with more power comes a lot more responsibility to

neighbours. I think, for now, that both countries realise this bigger picture.

Fiott

12 Which of the aspects do you think are actually influencing the bilateral

relations today between India and China- political or military?

Military of course and economic

B.K.Mishra

China thinks strategy and security in military terms but India thinks strategy

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and security in political terms therefore there is no symphony on this

thinking. The reason why China is far ahead than India in military might is

because its rulers as having got the taste of military affairs during the Civil

war and in the Second World War understood quite early on the need to

develop a flexible coherent military strategy for power projection.

Balaji Chandramohan

Military power is a direct consequence of growing political power. It is

normal for states to increase military power as they gain in political

influence. I still think that on balance it is the pressing political issues such

as economic growth and development that mark relations, rather than

military affairs – however, this could change in the future.

Fiott

13 Has India’s decision to offer asylum to Dalai Lama seriously affected her

relations with China?

Yes, it did.

B.K.Mishra

China’s strategic forces command is there in Tibet and that’s there to stay.

There is so much talk about Dalai Lama being given asylum. India’s

relations with China will affect only if India starts developing a commando

operation unit of the Tibetan volunteers and integrate it with the yet to be

formed mountain strike corps which is some distance from onwards.

Balaji Chandramohan

It is symbolic but I do not think it is the major point in relations between the

two countries.

Fiott

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14 Do you think that the changed political and economic scenario in China

and India had improved political relationship between them?

There has been no change in Chinese political scenario. The improvement in

India-China relationship is conspicuous only in economic matters.

B.K.Mishra

Well, China and India has been friends and despite the brief period post-

1962 era there is no reasons for us to have economic relations with China

but not at the cost of scaling down of our military might

Balaji Chandramohan

Economic development seems to concentrate the minds of leaders. Mutual

wealth and growth should help relations but mutual challenges such as the

environment could also help relations.

Fiott

15 Today there is a talk that the balance of trade is heavily tilted towards

China which is importing raw materials and is flooding the markets

outside with her finished goods. How would this affect Indian economy,

and her relationship with China?

This is simple economic principle that is in operation in India—China trade.

In the long run India will win economically in the region and globally

following the modernisation process, i.e. the more mature an economy gets

the more it demands quality goods. Thus, China’s relative advantage of

producing cheap goods will be lost, provided India keeps the regional

market engaged with quality goods. The trade deficit is just a notion. Just

calculate the amount related to goods that could have come to India through

investment. If one takes that amount away from Chinese export list then

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there would be no trade deficit against India. Even if there is trade deficit it

does no harm to Indian economy.

B.K.Mishra

I don’t think so. China’s economy is based on export markets and there are

many countries than India to offer that luxury for it. China is increasing its

economic foot print in Africa, Latin America and South Pacific for its

resources and there are markets there for them also. We should also follow

suit rather than worrying about the balance of trade and so forth.

Balaji Chandramohan

This is a good question. Certainly it is an issue but it makes one think about

the structure of India’s economy – China is an exporter of goods, but India

is a provider of services. I wonder over the longer-term what is more

resilient as an economic model. India’s economy – with its well skilled,

English speaking, workers – could potentially have a global reach. For

China the problem is boosting domestic demand and shifting away from an

export model, which might be difficult to achieve. In the end, the critical

issue is about market access – China is still a closed economy, even though

it is a WTO member (India could flood China with the services and high-

tech savvy it has at its disposal). A China with greater domestic demand

would change the nature of the global economy, but it has to get there first.

Fiott

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16 What kind of trading pattern between India and China would improve

their relations with each other?

Trading in goods that are complementary would be most suited for these big

needing and emerging countries.

B.K.Mishra

China is India’s largest trading partner and India as an economic power is

very much welcomed by India and I hope as India’s economic might

increases with second economic reforms there might be more of a case for

better trading relations

Balaji Chandramohan

17 What kind of economic ties should India develop with other countries to

counter her trade imbalance with China?

One cannot wish for a particular kind of economic ties to counter someone

else. As mentioned earlier, India should keep the other markets engaged and

follow a liberal policy to be perceived as an attractive destination for

economic activities.

B.K.Mishra

India should enact the Free Trade Agreement with much more pragmatic

approach as exhibited by China for example in enacting the FTA with

Australia and New Zealand for example

Balaji Chandramohan

Regional integration could work.

Fiott

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18 What, in your opinion, are the reasons for China opposing time and again

the aspirations of India getting a permanent seat in the Security Council?

China, at times, has also expressed her support for India’s UNSC bid. But

the reform process of the UN must start for that which does not seem

happening in the future. Until that happens it is difficult to say what the

Chinese view on India’s UNSC ambition is.

B.K.Mishra

Let’s be clear on this. The Concept of Security Council came into being at

the backdrop of military might. China contributed to the Allied cause in the

Second World War substantially in terms of the number of casualties next

only to Soviet Union. It was the smart leadership of the Chinese (both the

mainland and Taiwan) that they could leverage that for a permanent

membership at the backdrop of military victory by shedding blood. India

contributed to the Allied cause voluntarily ( the largest ever all volunteer

force) but our political leaders were not willing to use the contribution made

by the Indian military for Allied cause in both the important Pacific and

European theatres of war before Independence for a post at the Security

council which is our fault. I’m not sure on how China with a structure like

that could change and support India’s cause for a post at the UNSC which is

not quite logical.

Balaji Chandramohan

The same reason that China stops any other country from becoming a

member. India is not special in this regard – the P5 is an exclusive club and

none of the members are willing to give up their powers. It is selfish but

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that’s life – many other countries might perhaps argue that they should be on

the P5 (think Brazil) but this is not going to happen any time soon.

Fiott

19 What, in your opinion, are two major initiatives that India could take to

improve the bilateral relations with China?

One needs to be clear what kind of relationship one wants with China. To

my mind the present relationship is more than normal. Time probably has

not come to address the more complex issues.

B.K.Mishra

India can increase economic relations with China of course but anyway a

closer military relation between New Delhi-Washington won’t be welcome

in anyway therefore the best way for India is to buy time by trading peace

but increasing our military might.

Balaji Chandramohan

A tough question. India on its own may be incapable. India plus others might

be more beneficial than merely a bilateral approach.

Fiott

20 China claims that it has diverted People’s Liberation Army Navy towards

deep seas purely for protecting her economic interests. Do you agree?

In Chinese foreign policy PLA (military) has a role to play. They proudly

assert that their navy (military) would protect their economic interests world

over. Now it is a matter of interpretation on the part of the Chinese

leadership to determine what they consider as economic interest. For

example the islands in South China Sea are considered economic interest

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along with sovereignty issue.

B.K.Mishra

When the US was distracted with asymmetric conflicts in the Middle East

and Afghanistan, China started to increase its naval capabilities which are

one-way of coming out of the encirclement that it has from Russia, Japan

and the United States within its core and periphery. This argument could be

extended for China to both protect and increase its economic interests

Balaji Chandramohan

Yes, I do agree but only because I think that “protecting her economic

interests” may require the occasional use of force. I do not separate war and

economic interests – neither does any aspiring power.

Fiott

21 If the measures being taken by China in protecting her economic

interests by developing its Navy are rational and essential, why similar

measures were not contemplated by India so far?

India’s strategic vision differs greatly from that of China. China sees threats

to her economic interests where as India does not feel so. India has the

required capability to protect her economic interests in the seas to the extent

rational threats can be anticipated to India’s economic interests in the seas.

B.K.Mishra

India is increasing its naval capabilities by strengthening the Eastern Fleet

and the tri-command service based in the Andaman and Nicobar. But we are

some way yet to develop capabilities where by which our Western Fleet can

project till Western Africa and our Eastern Fleet can project till South- East

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Pacific. This can happen in the next 25 years.

Balaji Chandramohan

22 In some sections of American and European media, the PLA navy is not

full-fledged Blue Water Navy, and thus need not be feared. Your

comments please.

China is not an organic naval power like Japan, Britain, Australia or the

United States. Its strategic culture is defensive primarily for continental

purposes and it requires some effort to develop naval capabilities. Though

the PLA has envisaged a three-island chain naval strategy for 2050, it’s

being actively countered by countries in the Indo-Pacific region or the

greater Asia-Pacific with the outer hedge of arc erected by the US starting

from Hawaii till Mumbai thanks to its Pacific Command.

Balaji Chandramohan

For now it is not a fully-fledged blue water fleet, but it is becoming one.

“Fear” however is a strange word – it is normal for a country the size and

importance of China to want and need a navy. The issue will be about

adjustment by the US (and to a lesser extent Europe) to what is inevitable –

Chinese naval power in the region.

Fiott

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23 Globally it is opined that the ‘rivalry’ between India and China is

destroying the peace and tranquillity of the Indian Ocean Region. Do you

agree?

The Americans and the Europeans need to worry about Chinese Blue water

capability. From Indian perspective a naval war with China in either Indian

Ocean or in South China Sea is a remote possibility as these are too

important places for global commerce. India needs to worry about the

Himalayan theatre in the eventuality of war with China.

B.K.Mishra

No, we have not even started it. But it will change if the US starts cutting

down its defense spending which I seriously doubt, then India has to push

for to increase its maritime capabilities then in that case, it will be left alone

in countering Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean which I doubt will happen.

Balaji Chandramohan

Yes

Harsh V.Pant

24 China has set up bases in Indian Ocean littoral states some of which are

quite close to Indian coast (metaphorically called String of Pearls), such as

Coco Islands in Myanmar. How should India react to this?

We should take all American jargons with our pinch of salt. The RAND

coined String of pearls is one such. There is no naval base in China in Indian

Ocean worth threatening India. And the ports being constructed by China are

purely of economic nature; some of the ports were offered to India to

develop, and in careful analysis one would see that SIGINT posts like in

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Coco are a game most nations play vis-à-vis each other, thus India and China

are no exceptions.

B.K.Mishra

They are not bases to start with. People who write or speak on that have little

background on actual maritime strategy. Maritime strategy is patience

compared to the continental strategy. China despite not having an effective

maritime strategy so far has somewhat started on that note because of an

effective patience which is included in their strategic culture like the British

strategic culture which stems them to develop friendly relations with those

atolls which look for economic support from bigger countries. India should

start both developing the latent hard power and the mild soft power which

includes Naval Diplomacy to counter China’s maritime ambitions within

India’s own backyard

Balaji Chandramohan

25 China is resorting to application of ‘Soft Power’ through diplomacy,

financial aid, and assisting in construction of ports in other neighbouring

states of India. How should India respond to this?

Please be corrected that economic diplomacy is no exhibition of soft power.

This is very much the part of hard power. China has no soft power. It

therefore is attempting to buy acceptance in the global community. India, as

mentioned earlier, needs to articulate her interests and pursue them in the

region and outside without much reference to China.

B.K.Mishra

India should do the same thing. But the problem in India’s strategic culture

is that we are at times perceived as arrogant bullying country by the small

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countries in contrast to India and we still are yet to develop a culture of

compliance for other countries and cultures which for example was one of

the reasons why the British were better before they went on to colonize the

world.

Balaji Chandramohan

26 China has reiterated that Indian Ocean does not belong to India, just

because of the name. Recently even America has said the same. How could

you interpret this?

No point in getting into debate on this. What matters is the rights of nations

over water as defined by the UN. So far as protecting Indian interests and the

economic interests of other countries in Indian Ocean are concerned these

will depend on India’s willingness and preparedness.

B.K.Mishra

Of course, it’s true. Ocean belongs to everybody but we have our interests in

Indian Ocean and beyond. In my opinion, we should not worry on what

others have to say but we need to act which includes developing the

capabilities of our Eastern fleet as I pointed above for operational

capabilities till the Eastern Coast of Chile and till Western Africa which I

think should be of objective. But I’m sure that’s quite ambitious.

Balaji Chandramohan

This is true. The Indian Ocean is largely international waters. Given the

importance to global trade, it is no wonder that China and the US have said

what they did. It would be wrong–and silly–for India to think that they own

the Indian Ocean.

Fiott

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27 How true is the triangular nexus between China, Pakistan and the US as a

strategy against India?

We can just hope that the US is not part of this nexus. But in international

politics no future is uncertain. Thus the best advice to India is to be self reliant

in every sphere and must maintain strategic independence.

B.K.Mishra

That’s wrong in the 21st century. When Soviet Union was present, the question

has some truth. US when it has a strong China to contain and counter will not

have an effective countering strategy against India.

Balaji Chandramohan

28 India has brought out its first Maritime Doctrine in the year 2004. Does this

fact imply that we had neglected the development factor of our navy for long?

Not much idea about the maritime Doctrine. But we certainly did not do many

of the things we needed to have done navy is no exception.

B.K.Mishra

Our security threats were continental and we have focussed on that for long. But

if you ask me personally, India’s greatest ever security threat was through its

oceans by Japan which didn’t of course happen thanks to the US intervention

and which is true even for now. An effective maritime strategy for not an

organic naval power such as India requires a lot of effort from the political

leadership and vision which is not there in place.

Let’s not forget there is an inter-service rivalry between Indian Army and Navy

also therefore it’s hard to find a consensus on issues as having the required

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capabilities for Out of Area Contingency Operations and developing the synergy

in the inter-service operations

Balaji Chandramohan

Perhaps, but doctrines are very important because they help a country focus on

the pressing needs – hopefully based on empirical realities. The fact that India

now has doctrine means that it is also maturing as an emerging power. These

things are to be expected of rising powers. It also shows a degree of

transparency on the part of India.

Fiott

Yes

Harsh V.Pant

29 The allocation of budget outlay to the Indian Defence forces in the last five

years has gone up from one lakh mark to two crore mark (in Indian Rupees)

in numbers. But this is less than one-third of China’s military outlay. What

does it imply?

Nothing except both consider military to be important and spending according

to their abilities

B.K.Mishra

Let’s be clear on that and that’s factual. China’s security threats are manifold.

From Russia to the United States to Japan to India of course therefore there is a

need for them to have such robust defense budget and let’s not forget that PLA

is also involved in the internal affairs of China which is not the case in India to

that much, therefore an increased attention for defense from Chinese side is

logical. India’s security threats are from Pakistan and China. Pakistan can’t

fight a major war with India and India can’t fight a major war with China alone

and in that case, the strategic vision is to have a capability for defensive

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purposes and I suppose the budget out lay in a way does justice to that.

Balaji Chandramohan

China has more expendable income, and/or India is prioritising other domestic

issues. In any case, the data can be misleading on military spending. The

military outlay of China is unclear in terms of where the money is being spent.

It is one thing to put all your money into developing military capabilities, but

how do we know if China’s increased costs are just going on administrative

costs. The defence figures coming out of China are incoherent and do not show

us fully what the money is being spent on. Remember, just because you spend

loads on defence does not mean that it is being spent wisely.

Fiott

That India cannot compete with China militarily….

Harsh V.Pant

30 China is said to be investing in R&D on a large scale with an aim to develop

indigenous capability for building and modernising its naval infrastructure

while India is still said to be highly dependent on import of technology and

equipment. How could this affect the preparedness of our navy?

To emerge as a big power, indigenous capability is a must. Here India must take

a lesson from China and invest more in R&D. No alternatives.

B.K.Mishra

China has got support on Research and Development from the erstwhile Soviet

Union when it got disintegrated most of the scientists went to lucrative offers

for China. China was also smart enough to tap them which we didn’t of course.

Our R&D which is primarily indigenous is not providing a system for effective

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way to attract brighter young talents.

Balaji Chandramohan

R&D projects take a long time to yield workable results. The equipment/tech

being imported by India is already advanced and it is less costly – China will

have the problem of pumping loads of money into R&D projects without a

guarantee that its researchers will come up with the next line in military

technological advance. This may change over time but one must not forget that

countries other than India and China are still undertaking R&D research.

Fiott

31 Do you think that India’s naval power would ever match with Chinese naval

power? If so, in how many years?

On paper, India is stronger to China only in naval capacity so …..

B.K.Mishra

Indian navy’s capabilities are better than China’s at least in the Indian Ocean

region and I think if the notion to increase out naval capabilities will have a

consensus among other countries in the Asia Pacific region such as Japan, the

US, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines which is a

bonus for us unlike Chinese naval capabilities.

Balaji Chandramohan

Well this depends on what is meant by naval power. China has gone the

traditional route of buying and refurbishing aircraft carriers, but it remains to be

seen if carriers really add power (we live in an era of sophisticated missiles).

Perhaps the future of naval power rests in more flexible and speedy units, or

perhaps with unmanned naval vehicles. That said, there is no reason to believe

that India cannot match China but it all depends on what each government

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prioritises – if the economies continue to do well then money will be available

for defence, but when the economy slumps then governments have to make a

decision about how much to spend on defence (look at Europe and the US right

now). As seems to be the case from recent history, it still pays to have alliances

with other partners – India+US+Japan+Australia vs. China is a more sensible

strategic path.

Fiott

Indian naval power almost a decade behind China’s

Harsh V.Pant

32 Is Indian Maritime Doctrine successful in identifying all the areas of concern

for India and the strategies to effectively address them?

Have to Check the Doctrine

B.K.Mishra

India’s Maritime Doctrine is effective in identifying the areas of concerns for

India but what it lacks is the ability to find an effective strategic arc. I’m not

quite satisfied with the notion of having Gulf of Aden to Strait of Malacca

concept. I think we can extend it as I argue till South Pacific for our Eastern

Fleet and West Africa for our Western Fleet. There is also a case of us to

develop bases in many of the atolls which will all be a part of doctrine which of

course is not the case at present. Second, though the doctrine spells out the

region from Gulf of Aden to Malacca, I think we should also try to strengthen

the existing tri-command services such as the one in Andamans and to have one

such similar command in the Lakshadweep-overall effective strategy.

Balaji Chandramohan

I think so, but the degree to which it fits in with a larger strategic plan for the

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country remains a question. Do not forget that India is a maritime and land

country. Naval power is important – especially as it is a trading nation – but it

remains vulnerable in the north of the country in its borders with China et al.

India will not be able to police the Indian ocean and beyond on its own – I think

it would make good sense for the country to boost its naval partnerships with

the other big democracy, the United States. Finally, there is no point in having

any strategy if you do not have the capabilities – this will take India some time.

Fiott

Comments received from Dr. Subhash Kapila

1. China's military modernisation is threatening India's security because India's

war preparedness has been lagging due to our PMs and his NSA wrong

assessments of China like what Nehru did.

2. China has kept India strategically confined within South Asian confines

through its nuclear armed surrogate PAKISTAN, fomenting insurgencies on

India's peripheries, establishing a ring of naval bases in the Indian Ocean to

limit India’s maritime control of Indian Ocean etc.

3. China is not serious about any boundary dispute resolution with India as it

serves as a constant strategic pressure point against India.

4. China -India relations can never be peaceful or friendly as China believes that

it is its destiny to dominate Asia as the undisputed leader. India will not

acquiesce on this.

5. India needs strong and assertive Prime Ministers, better National Security

Advisers and dynamic Defence Ministers if it wishes to effectively deal with

THE CHINA THREAT which is VERY REAL.