New equations in Asia

Containing China

New equations in Asia

by Harsh V Pant

Regional states are no longer willing to wait but are actively seeking new ways to manage China’s ascent in global hierarchy.


As the rise of China upends the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, new regional configurations are emerging thick and fast to tackle this challenge. The US, Japan and India held their first trilateral meeting earlier this week in Washington to discuss regional issues.

The US has a traditionally strong security relationship with Japan and has been instrumental in bringing India and Japan closer together in recent years. Though security of sea lanes of communication, coordination of humanitarian assistance and global terrorism were the focus of this meeting, the rise of China was the unspoken subtext and it will shape the trajectory of this arrangement in the near future.

As America’s economic constraints force it to go back to an ‘offshore balancing’ posture, it needs new arrangements in Asia if it wants to prevent China from dominating the regional strategic landscape.

The US will increasingly rely on its regional allies and regional arrangements to carry more of the security burden much as it did via its hub-and-spokes alliance system in Europe since the end of the Second World War. China, of course, remains very sensitive to this pro-active approach in Asia and has suggested that a ‘Cold War mentality’ is not the way forward but the regional states have their own plans.

The US has encouraged a greater role for India in East and Southeast Asia. Exhorting India to lead and look beyond its immediate neighbourhood, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, during her visit to India earlier this year asked India “not just to look east, but to engage east and act east as well.” India has responded with a renewed focus on its Look East Policy which has evolved from economic and trade linkages with various regional countries to a gradual strengthening of security ties.

India’s ties with Japan, in particular, have been gaining momentum with both New Delhi and Tokyo making an effort in recent years to put Indo-Japanese ties into high gear. India’s booming economy makes it an attractive trading partner for Japan as the latter tries to overcome its long years of economic stagnation.

Japan is also reassessing its role as a security-provider in the region and beyond, and of all its neighbours, India seems most willing to acknowledge Japan’s centrality in shaping the evolving Asian security architecture.

Both India and Japan are well aware of China’s not so subtle attempts at preventing their rise. It is most clearly reflected in China’s opposition to the expansion of the UN Security Council to include India and Japan as permanent members. China’s status as a permanent member of the Security Council and as a nuclear weapon state is something that it would be loathe to share with any other state in Asia.

Trilateral initiative
As the US, Japan and India refashion their ties, there are now growing calls for another trilateral initiative involving the US, Australia and India. There is a distinct convergence of interests among the US, India and Australia across of a whole range of issues including the security of global commons, maritime security and counter terrorism.

The traditional neglect of Australia-India bilateral ties is beginning to get rectified with the Labour government’s decision to overturn a decades-old ban on uranium sale to India, paving the way for Canberra to supply the yellowcake to a nation outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Canberra has reinvigorated its alliance with the US in recent weeks agreeing to station 2,500 marines in a US base in northern Australia and has reached out to Japan for enhanced defence cooperation. Australia and India are ramping up their defence ties with the two sides converging on the importance of freedom of navigation in international waters, an issue that has bedevilled China’s ties with key regional states in recent months.

The issue has already generated a lot of heat with the Australian foreign minister first suggesting that India “has really been quite positive” about a possible trilateral defense arrangement involving the US, Australia and India but then Canberra having to publicly contradict such an assertion. New Delhi too was quick to deny it. Clearly any diplomatic move targeted explicitly at China will come unstuck in Canberra and New Delhi. But there is a clear recognition in Australia and India that new institutional mechanisms are needed for a new strategic landscape in Asia-Pacific.

Though economic ties between Australia and China are robust with China being Australia’s largest trading partner since 2009, the security implications of a rising and an ever more assertive China are becoming palpable with each passing day.

When the idea of a ‘democratic quad’ was mooted a few years back, the fear of antagonising China had led Australia and India to reject it. It was Kevin Rudd who had pulled out of the Quadrilateral initiative after winning the 2007 elections as he decided to reach out to China.

Now that similar arrangements are in offing, China will have to come to terms with a new reality that its faster than expected rise is creating tension in the region. Regional states are no longer willing to wait but are actively seeking new ways and means to manage China’s rapid ascent in global hierarchy.

India will now have to think more creatively about its role in East Asia and will have to seek new alignments if it wants to preserve a favourable balance of power in the region. The time for a regional ‘concert of democracies’ has arrived and New Delhi should give it serious consideration.

source: Deccan Herald

Agni-V shows India's ambitions, says CPC paper

Ananth Krishnan

source:Hindu  

In this Feb. 2010, file photo, V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Avinash Chander, Programme Director, AGNI missile, pose with a model of the Agni missile during a press conference in New Delhi.

A commentary in the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper

A commentary in the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper this weekend called on India to cooperate more with its neighbours “instead of being hostile to them,” suggesting that India's rising military expenditure reflected its growing regional “strategic ambitions.”

The article published on the People's Daily's website, whose author was identified as Zi Mo, pointed to the development of the 5,000 km-range Agni-V, expected to be unveiled in February 2012, as showing India's “intention of seeking regional balance of power.”

While Indian military officials had said India's weapons would not pose a threat to any country, the newspaper said claims from other officials and scientists suggested that the development of the missile was aimed at China, whose cities would fall within its range.

The paper pointed to India's rising military spending — which is, however, only a little more than one-third that of China's, according to estimates — as evidence of Indian strategic ambitions.

Indian goal

“It is the Indian goal to continue to strengthen the military and possess a military clout that matches its status as a major power,” the article said. “However, how many missiles is enough is a question for all governments in the missile era.”

India was beginning “to get close to America” following Washington's growing strategic focus on the Asia-Pacific, but “thinking this move will contain its imaginary enemy would be naive.”

“India should cooperate with the neighbouring countries instead of being hostile to them and should reduce its own ‘persecution mania' to play a role on the world stage in the future,” the article said.

“There is no real winner in wars and peace opportunities must not be wasted. This is the wise judgment.”

Cross border smuggling on rise in Indo-China border

Gaurav Bisht, Hindustan Times

Shimla, September 05, 2011

Trafficking of rare stuff - in high demand at the international market - is on the rise on India’s border with China in Himachal Pradesh. For second time in past 13 months police has detected cross border smuggling on “porous” border with China in remote Kinnaur district raising questions about security arrangements.


Police on Monday seized two trucks laden with costly pashmina wool that was smuggled from Chinese villages to Indian border. The estimated cost of the seized wool is pegged at around Rs 1.5 crore in the international market. The police seized these trucks near Kharo in Pooh subdivision that is 100 kilometers from Nako a village close to China border in the district.

Reliable sources have told Hindustan Times that consignment of pashmina wool had been brought from the border villages in China. The pashmina wool that weighs about five tonne had been brought on the pony backs from Churup village in China administered Tibetan Autonomous Region. The wool is harvested from Himalayan mountain goat. The goat is found in Kashmir, Tibet and Nepal primarily. As pashmina wool set the fashion world on fire in the 1990s, it has high price in the international market.

Sources said that cops have also found some quantity of shatoosh wool sheared from rare Tibetan antelope Chiru. Wildlife reports have put that 20,000 of the wild animals that live on China's Tibetan Plateau are killed each year or are either shot in herds by automatic weapons or caught in leg-hold traps-for their prized coats. The shahtoosh trade was banned globally in 1975 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) following a fall in the number of the antelopes. The Indian government followed and banned the trade in 1991.

The local drivers of the impounded trucks have told police that the wool was being taken to police. Local cops are also questioning one Kamla Nand a local said to be having close connections with Chinese traders. Reliable information said that Nand was arrested few days back while smuggling rare scotch Whiskies to China villages. Nand is said to informer for the military sources.

If sources are to be believed police had seized two trucks laden with pashmina wool and about eight other have already made their way into the Delhi markets. “Right now we cannot say anything except that tow trucks laden with Pashmina wool had been seized,” said Superintendent of Police in Kinnaur Ashok Kumar.

In August 2010 police has seized 12 tonnes of red sanders wood that was enruote to China. Red sanders wood grows in the forest of Andhra Pradesh is in high demand in China. The red sanders wood contains thorium is used as coolant in the old fashioned nuclear reactors; it is also used in medicines and making musical instruments in China.

Investigations revealed that the truck drivers had been issued permits by Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officers. ITBP is responsible for managing the security along Indian border in two tribal districts Lahual and Spiti and Kinnaur. The police sleuths had detected involvement of ITBP officials in the incident. A commandant and cops had been suspended for their involvement.

The latest case of cross border smuggling had once again raised question about the security along the Indo-China border.

China to open its first military base abroad in Indian Ocean

Beijing, Dec 12 (PTI)

In a move that may cause unease in India, China today announced that it will set up its first military base abroad in the Indian Ocean island of Seychelles to ''seek supplies and recuperate'' facilities for its Navy.


The naval fleet may seek supplies or recuperate at appropriate harbours in Seychelles or other countries as needed during escort missions, Chinese Defence Ministry announced here today.

China has already cemented its foothold in the Indian Ocean by signing contract with the UN backed International Seabed Authority to gain rights to explore polymetallic sulphide ore deposit in Indian Ocean over the next 15 years.

The contract awarded this year to a Chinese association exclusive rights to explore a 10,000-square-km of international seabed in the southwest Indian Ocean.

The base in Seychelles is regarded significant by analysts as China is about to launch its first aircraft carrier. It is currently undergoing final trials.

Playing down its significance, Chinese Defence Ministry statement today said it is international practice for naval fleets to re-supply at the closest port of a nearby state during long-distance missions.

Apparently commenting on a recent report that China will establish a military base in Seychelles, it said Chinese naval fleets have re-supply facilities at harbours in Djibouti, Oman and Yemen since China sent its first convoy to the Gulf of Aden in 2008.

The decision to establish its first naval base abroad was taken during Chinese Defence Minister Gen Liang Guanglie's goodwill visit to Seychelles earlier this month.

During the visit, Seychelles Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam said his country has invited China to set up a military base on the archipelago to beef up the fight against piracy.

"We have invited the Chinese government to set up a military presence on Mahe to fight the pirate attacks that the Seychelles face on a regular basis," Adam was quoted as saying in the media reports.

"For the time being China is studying this possibility because she has economic interests in the region and Beijing is also involved in the fight against piracy," he said.

During Liang's visit, the two sides exchanged views on their countries' and armies' cooperation, as well as on the global and regional situation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Seychelles appreciates China's efforts to maintain safe navigation on the Indian Ocean, as well as the support it has granted to Seychelles, the ministry said.

Seychelles also invited China's navy to re-supply and recuperate in the country during escort missions, the defence ministry statement said.

Asia-pacific region - Changing landscape

Asia-pacific region

Changing landscape

by Harsh V Pant

India is emerging as a critical balancer in the Asia-Pacific, and regional states are recognising New Delhi’s growing clout.


The rapidly changing strategic landscape of the Asia-Pacific has, once again, been in focus in recent days. Even as Europe struggles to come to terms with its economic decline, major powers in the Asia-Pacific are coming to terms with their region’s rapidly rising economic and political profile. The US president, Barack Obama, was in Asia to underscore America’s commitment to the regional stability at a time when he is wrapping up two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the US secretary of state has already underlined, “the future of politics will be decided in Asia, not Afghanistan or Iraq, and the US will be right at the centre of the action.” At a time when talk of American decline and retrenchment from global commitments has become de riguer, the signals coming from Washington are that it has no intention of leaving the Asian strategic landscape. Nor will regional states allow America to lower its profile. After all, the elephant in the room (region) is China’s faster than expected ascent in global inter-state hierarchy.

The East Asia Summit was the second gathering in a week that brought American and Chinese officials together for a regional meeting. It followed the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Hawaii a few days back where much to China’s annoyance, the US president suggested that Beijing needed to “play by the rules” in international trade.

From there, Obama moved to Canberra where he secured new basing rights even as eight regional states signed up for the Obama administration’s new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free-trade plan. As the threat of a rising China increases, most regional states are eager for greater economic, political and military engagement with the US.

Australia made it clear how despite growing economic linkages with China, regional states continue to hedge their bets by courting American security partnerships. The US announced a permanent military presence in Australia and the move to send 250 Marines to bases there for six-month tours starting next summer, eventually rotating 2,500 troops through the country, is being widely viewed as the start of the administration’s strategic objective of repositioning the US as a leader on economics and security in the fast-developing Asia-Pacific region. Not surprisingly, Beijing was quick to react questioning whether expanding the military alliance ‘is in line with the common interest’ of countries in the region.

China also views the development of the TPP as a political move, to create a US-dominated counterweight to a rival trade bloc of Southeast Asian countries plus China, Japan and South Korea, known by the acronym Asean Plus Three. Meanwhile, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao demanded that ‘outside forces’ had no excuse to get involved in the complex maritime dispute, a veiled warning to the US and other countries to keep out of the sensitive issue.

Emerging role

It is in this broader context that India’s emerging role in the region should be assessed. India is emerging as a critical balancer in the Asia-Pacific and regional states are recognising New Delhi’s growing clout. This was reflected in Australia’s recent decision to reconsider its ban on the sale of uranium to India. That a Labour government, traditionally considered a non-proliferation hawk, should take this decision is reflective of the changing priorities of Canberra. And that this could not have happened without American pressure on the Australian government to change its policies should also alert New Delhi to the important role a so-called declining America continues to play in supporting Indian ambitions in the region and globally.

In his meetings with the Chinese premier and the US president, the Indian prime minister did raise a range of issues. Though Manmohan Singh ruled out any major changes in the nuclear liability law in the near future, despite American misgivings, he urged Obama to commence nuclear trade with India. The US was also informed that India was ready to ratify the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), another issue that the US wants to be done as part of implementation of the civil nuclear deal. This is an important issue to be clarified on an immediate basis given a wide-ranging perception that the US-India ties have entered a period of drift. The strategic priorities of New Delhi and Washington are in alignment but it’s the tactical issues that have made the two wary of each other.

With Wen Jiabao, Singh was refreshingly emphatic in suggesting that India wouldn’t take sides in China’s territorial disputes with its neighbours over South China Sea but India did have a right to exploit the sea's oil and gas commercially. Wen urged India and China to work ‘hand-in-hand’ to ensure that the 21st century belongs to Asia. There are, he said, enough areas where India and China can cooperate with each other. Yet this cannot hide the fact that frictions are increasing with each passing day between the two Asian giants.

China must understand that with its rise on the international stage comes increased responsibility argued Obama. If Beijing does not respect international rules, Obama said, “we will send a clear message to them that we think that they need to be on track in terms of accepting the rules and responsibilities that come with being a world power.” This reflects that American strategic priorities are changing and changing rapidly. Indian diplomacy will have to be equally agile to take advantage of all the opportunities that this new realignment of structural forces presents New Delhi in serving its own interests
source:Deccan Herald

2nd Chinese expo in a month in Mumbai

Mumbai, Dec. 6:

Less than a month after receiving an encouraging response, Chinese entrepreneurs will be back in Mumbai again to display their wares at the 9th China Products Exhibition 2011 to be held between December 15 and 17. A similar expo China Sourcing Fairs was held between November 23 and 25 in Mumbai.

The growing efforts being taken by Chinese companies to tap the Indian markets reflect slowdown of demand from its traditional markets in the US and Europe.

The China Products exhibition will provide a platform for Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs to interact with each other to explore long-term business associations in the form of tie-ups, joint ventures, collaborations and import-export trading relations.

Over 120 Chinese companies will display extensive range of products across a wide section of industries such as building, construction and interiors, diesel engine and diesel generator sets, electrical appliances, electronics, fabrics and garments, food and beverages, gifts and toys, hardware and tools, health and hygiene, home appliances and industrial products.

The trade show is being organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, sub-councils of Commercial Industry, Guangdong, Ningbo and Hangzhou and supported by the All India Association of Industries and the India-China Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

Mr Suresh Prabhu, former Union Cabinet Minister for Power, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, who will preside over the expo, said there are a lot of opportunities for India and China to collaborate and develop positive relations based on trust and friendship for mutual benefit

Bilateral agreement: Protocol expected to defuse maritime tension

India-China pact for calm on seas

New Delhi, Dec 2, DHNS:

Aiming to avoid any conflict with China in the strategically vital Indian Ocean, India is considering a bilateral protocol that may help defuse any maritime tension between the two emerging economies in the region.


“Such a protocol is under the examination of government,” Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said, adding that the idea was being debated within the establishment following the success of Indo-Pakistan hotlines between the two countries’ director generals of military operations.

While New Delhi has a structured mechanism with Pakistan to deal with border issues and another border dispute redressal mechanism with China is on the cards, no such structures is in place between the two navies, both of which are expanding their footprint in the Indian Ocean through which bulk of the world’s oil and cargo moves.

Even though Beijing’s recent sovereignty claims on the South China sea has ruffled many feathers in the Asia-Pacific, Indian Ocean region could very well turn out to be a flashpoint zone between the two neighbours.

“A protocol (to avoid confrontation) is being looked at by the government,” Verma said, adding that such a protocol existed between USA and USSR at the height of the cold war. Earlier this year, INS Airavat sailing at South China Sea was threatened over the radio by a person identifying the area as Chinese territory and asking the Indian warship to back off.

In 2009, China claimed that its warships had forced an Indian submarine to surface after it was allegedly found tracking the movement of the Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean when these were on their way to join the anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden.
While the first Chinese aircraft carrier has begun its sea trial a few months ago, more carriers are believed to be under construction.

China has invested heavily in the submarines and its game-changer, an anti-ship ballistic missile that can destroy an aircraft carrier from more than 1000 km away is “close to operationalisation” keeping the Indian Navy as well as US Pacific Command on the tenterhooks. “The anti-ship missile will generate a different category of weapon,” admitted Verma.

To position itself in an authoritative position vis-a-vis China, Indian Navy is not only increasing its assets and manpower but also extending support from other littoral states who may offer their crucial help when the need comes.

The first Indian nuclear submarine INS Arihant and new carrier INS Vikramaditya will be on the patrol before the end of 2012. The Navy is also going to add more destroyers, frigates, submarines and aircraft in its inventory within the next five years and there is no dearth of funding to strain the ongoing programmes in the next five years. By 2027, Navy was looking at a fleet strength of more than 150 ships and close to 500 aircraft, including fighters, choppers and surveillance platform, he said.

MPs express concern over Chinese build-up along LAC .

Monday, 28 November 2011 23:50 PNS | New Delhi


Rapid modernisation of military infrastructure including roads by China along the international border and Line of Actual Control (LAC) figured in the Lok Sabha on Monday, with at least 30 MPs expressing concern and seeking an explanation from the Government about the measures taken to counter this build-up.

This question came up in the backdrop of India lagging behind in building strategic roads in all the States in the Northeast and Ladakh facing China and Defence Minister AK Antony last week pulling up the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for delays in meeting the time lines.

The MPs, cutting across party lines, asked “whether the Government is aware of massive infrastructure building including road and rail links by China right up to the international border and also in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and threat posed to India?”

Antony, who recently said Chinese infrastructure build up was a matter of concern, replied: “The Government is aware that China is undertaking infrastructure development in the border regions opposite India. The Government is closely watching all the developments on the borders and reviews the threat perception regularly.”

In a written reply, he said out of 73 strategic roads, BRO is entrusted with 61 roads of total length of 3,394 km in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

He informed the Lok Sabha that out of 61 roads, 15 roads of length 563.87 km were already completed and work on 44 roads was under progress and building of two roads was yet to commence. Antony last week assured the Rajya Sabha that all the strategic roads will be completed by 2016.

Giving the break up of funds utilised by the BRO for the strategic roads projects in the last five years, he said Rs 86 crore were spent in 2006-07, Rs 169 in crore in 2007-08, Rs 327 crore in 2008-09, Rs 624 crore in 2009-10 and Rs 657 crore in 2010-11.

Antony also informed the Lok Sabha that two new strategic roads were under construction in Sikkim close to the international border. These roads are Sivok-Rangpo (44.39 km) and Murkongselek-Pasighat (30.617km). Moreover, conversion of Rangiya-Murkongselek (551.88 km) into broad gauge was also on, he said.

China warns India against giving 'platform' to Dalai Lama

Beijing/New Delhi, Nov 28, (IANS) :

China Monday said it is opposed to any country providing ''a platform'' to the Dalai Lama for his ''anti-China activities'' even as the Tibetan leader's envoy in New Delhi said India was right in letting him speak at an ongoing Buddhist conference.


The four-day Global Buddhist Conference being held in New Delhi entered the second day, with scholars debating the finer points of Buddhist philosophy and discussing their ideas of right living.

China, however, made it point abundantly clear.

“The Dalai Lama is not a purely religious figure but one who has been engaged in separatist activities for a long time, under the pretext of religion,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said.

“We oppose any country that provides a platform for his anti-China activities in any form,” he said in Beijing, in an allusion to the meet where the Dalai Lama will deliver the valedictory lecture Nov 30.

Hong's comments came days after India and China postponed the Nov 28-29 15th round of boundary talks over the Dalai Lama's participation in the conference.

Hong did not specifically say if China had conveyed its opposition to the conference.
India considers the Dalai Lama, who fled his homeland in 1959 after an abortive anti-Communist uprising, a spiritual leader and so free to speak on spiritual matters.

The India-China row over the conference led to the postponement of the boundary talks.
Both sides have downplayed the postponement, saying they were in touch over new dates.
Hong said that both sides were "in communication on relevant issues" and were also discussing the "specific agenda" of the talks. China paid "great attention" to the next round of talks with India, he stressed.

Tempa Tsering, the Dalai Lama's chief representative in Delhi, protested against China's design to give a political colour to a religious event, saying India "has done the right thing' by refusing to cave in.

“They (conference delegates) have no other motive other than to bring Buddhist scholars together to discuss Buddhist philosophy and share experiences of how the Buddhist teachings can help humanity,” Tsering told IANS at Hotel Lalit where some sessions were held.

“India is a free democratic society. China is a closed society; that's why they are reacting in a paranoid manner,” Tsering said, when asked about Chinese objections.

“The Dalai Lama has been a guest of India for the last 52 years. It would have been unusual if the Dalai Lama, who is regarded the world over as a spiritual leader and the head of Tibetan Buddhism, will not attend this conference,” he said.

“The government of India has done the right thing to let the Dalai Lama speak at the conference,” he said.

The Asoka Mission, the organiser of the conference, has also objected to the politicization of the event by China.

“The world is dealing with ... violence, social and economic disparity, environmental degradation and discord between and within communities and nations. The objective of the congregation is to stand united when it comes to sending their collective message to the world on such issues," said Lama Lobzang, president of the Asoka Mission.

Around 900 Buddhist scholars and followers from several countries are participating in the conference that began in New Delhi Sunday

Insecure China

''India cannot give in to unreasonable pressure.''


India did well not to succumb to Chinese pressure over the holding of the global Buddhist congregation in Delhi this week and over the presence of the Dalai Lama at the conference, even though the high-level border talks between national security advisor Shivshankar Menon and China’s special representative Dai Bingguo, which were to be held at the same time, had to be postponed.

The two events were separate and had nothing to do with each other. The congregation, which is being held to mark 2,600 years of enlightenment of the Buddha, is mainly a private event, though the government has supported some side events associated with it. Therefore India could not have conceded Beijing’s demand for cancellation of the conference, though the President and Prime Minister, who were to take part in the conference chose to stay away. The congregation is a major event for Buddhist monks and scholars from all over the world and had been scheduled long ago. India also could not have prevented the Dalai Lama from participating in it because it is a religious event and had nothing political about it.

The Dalai Lama has studiously avoided any political activity in India, and India has taken care to ensure that the actions of neither the spiritual leader nor his supporters violated the terms set down long ago.

It has always been India’s position that the Dalai Lama is a guest and it would not place any restrictions on his activities as a religious and spiritual leader. China has been obsessively sensitive to the Tibetan leader, probably because it feels insecure about its presence in Tibet where even recently monks had protested against denial and violation of human rights. In the circumstances the best solution was to postpone the border talks, which might now be held in December.

There have been other recent irritants in relations, like China’s objection to Indian companies’ role in hydrocarbon exploration in the disputed South China Sea and New Delhi’s unhappiness over China’s activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

This is unfortunate. But there is no need for India to give in to any pressure and concede any unreasonable demand made by Beijing. China may want to assert its power and strength in its neighbourhood and in the global arena. India also has its own interests to protect and promote. An unequal and weak relationship will not help India to reach a fair and satisfactory resolution of its disputes with China. source: Deccan herald

President, PM skip Buddhist meet

New Delhi, Nov 27, DHNS:

After overruling Chinese objection to Dalai Lama’s participation in the World Buddhist Congregation that opened here on Sunday, President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chose to skip the global meet of Buddhist leaders.


The congregation had to be inaugurated by Chairman Indian Council of Cultural Relations Karan Singh. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to give his valedictory address on Wednesday.

The President and the Prime Minister were invited and had agreed to attend the conference. However, they denied it afterwards, said a functionary of Asoka Mission, which has organised the congregation.

Though no one is speaking out openly about Chinese objection to the Tibetan spiritual leader addressing the conference, it has made the monks unhappy. Expressing the displeasure, main organiser of the congregation Lama Lobzang told Deccan Herald, “China is nobody to decide where he should speak, where not. How can they dictate such things?”

The Lama, who heads Asoka Mission, said: “The congregation is purely religious and it has nothing to do with politics.”

The four-day congregation shot into controversy when China wanted the Indian government to prohibit the Dalai Lama from addressing the conclave attended by close to 1,000 monks across the world. India rejected the Chinese demand on the ground that the Dalai Lama was an honoured guest of the country and a revered spiritual leader.

Chinese anxiety mainly relates to recent happenings in Tibet, where as many as nine Buddhist monks and two nuns have resorted to self immolation to protest violations of human rights and the repressions.

Beijing apprehends that the Dalai Lama may use the platform to highlight the issue.
On Sunday, the first day of the session, no direct reference to Tibet or any other place was made. However, there were comments on the plight of Buddhist heritage and traditions. Angdava Sherpa, Member of Parliament in Nepal, referred to attack on cultural traditions and demanded that the congregation oppose it. Her stand received wide support. Sherpa has skipped ongoing session of Parliament in her country to attend the congregation. Many senior monks endorsed the idea of global unity of Buddhists keeping aside differences of sects.
Source Deccan Herald

Buddha event deepens India-China rift

New Delhi, Nov 26, DHNS:

A global conclave to celebrate the 2,600th year of enlightenment of Buddha has apparently emerged as yet another irritant in the complex relation between India and China, with Beijing asking New Delhi to stop Tibetan leader Da­l­ai La­ma from addressing its valedictory session next Wednesday.


The Government of India is understood to have rejected Beijing’s demand, stating that Dalai Lama is an honoured guest of India and is a highly revered spiritual leader who cannot be stopped from taking part in the congregation, which is scheduled to commence on Sunday.

The issue has now tu­rned into the latest row betw­een India and China, which ha­ve just postponed boundary talks in the backdrop of a tiff over Chinese objection to Indian companies’ role in hydrocarbon exploration in South China Sea.

Beijing is worried over the possibility that Dalai Lama might use the forum of Global Buddhist Congregation 2011 to highlight the restrictions on religious freedom in Chinese-occupied Tibet, where at least nine Buddhist monks and two nuns – mostly from Kirti Mo­n­astery – immolated themselves to protest repression and hum­an right violation by the authorities of the communist country.

The organisers invited Dalai Lama to be the chief guest on the valedictory session on Wednesday.

Though the event is being organised by the Asoka Mission, the Government also got involved with it and some of the programmes associated with the congregation are being supported by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. Dalai Lama, who has been in exile in India since 1959, is also set to unveil a Coffee Table pictorial book – ‘Sharanam Gachhami’ – on the concluding day of the conclave. The book is being published by Full Circle and is supported by the Public Diplomacy Division of the MEA.
According to the sources, it was during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sideline of the East Asia Summit at Bali in Indonesia last week that Beijing placed before New Delhi its demand for cancellation of Dalai Lama’s address at the GBC-2011.

New Delhi reiterated its official position that Dalai Lama was “an honoured guest in India and he could go anywhere in the country. But he was not expected to indulge in political activities. The fresh irritant came up at a time when a row between New Delhi and Beijing over Indian companies’ role in hydrocarbon exploration in disputed South China Sea cast a shadow over the 15th round of the Special Representative level talks on the protracted boundary dispute.

Row over South China Sea looms large
Chill creeps into India-China ties
New Delhi, Nov 25, DHNS:

A meeting between Indian and Chinese Special Representatives (SR) over boundary disputes scheduled for early next week has now been postponed indefinitely, in the backdrop of a row between New Delhi and Beijing over hydrocarbon exploration in the South China Sea.


The Special Representatives—India’s National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and China’s State Councillor Dai Bingguo—were expected to hold the 15th round of talks on the protracted boundary dispute in New Delhi on Monday and Tuesday.

They were expected to firm up the proposed “Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs,” an additional arrangement involving senior diplomats of both countries to urgently deal with any evolving situation along the Line of Actual Control. The dates of the Special Representative level talks were not made public officially. Sources earlier said Special Representative Dai would travel to New Delhi to hold the next round of SR-level talks with Menon. The two SRs held the 14th round of talks in Beijing on November 30, last year.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, on Friday stated that New Delhi and Beijing were in touch with each other to set dates for the SR-level talks in the near future, hinting that the parleys scheduled for Monday and Tuesday had been deferred indefinitely.

“We are looking forward to the 15th round of SR talks in the near future and the two sides remain in touch to find convenient dates for the meeting,” said Vishnu Prakash, official spokesperson and Joint Secretary (External Publicity) of the MEA.

The statement was issued a day after China’s state-run Xinhua news agency stated in a commentary that India’s “jitters” and fears over China’s growing clout in the region was caused by an “inferiority complex” and “loud jealousy”.

The SR-level talks were postponed in the backdrop of New Delhi brushing aside Beijing’s objections to the role of India’s ONGC Videsh Limited in hydrocarbon exploration in offshore blocks claimed by Vietnam in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing said it was opposed to any country engaging in oil and gas exploration in “waters under the jurisdiction of China.” China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea.

New Delhi refuted the Chinese objection, stating that its ties with Vietnam in the hydrocarbon sector were in accordance with the international laws and it would like the bilateral cooperation to grow in the coming years. India went ahead to strengthen its hydrocarbon ties with Vietnam.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Bali in Indonesia earlier this month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that Indian interests in the South China Sea were “purely commercial” in nature and sovereignty claims on the disputed waters must be settled according to international law. Wen sent out a message of warning while addressing the Asean leaders in Bali and stated that “outside forces” should not, under any pretext, get involved with the dispute on the South China Sea.

Earlier in late July, an Indian Navy vessel, the ‘INS Airavat’, was reportedly warned by the Chinese Navy off the coast of Vietnam against entering “Chinese waters”. India also flexed its muscle last week with the successful test of new-generation 3,500-km Agni IV missile, followed by an announcement that Agni V, with a strike range of over 5,000 km would be test-fired in just three months.

Frozen relations

* Special representatives of the two countries were scheduled to hold the 15th round of talks

* They were expected to firm up an additional arrangement involving senior diplomats to urgently deal with any evolving situation along the Line of Actual Control

* Statement comes a day after Chinese news agency commented on India’s ‘jitters’ and fears over China’s growing clout in the region caused by “inferiority complex” and “loud jealousy”

* Foreign ministry says both sides in touch to set convenient dates for talks in the near future
source:Deccan Herald

Tibetan waters crucial for India’s future

by PK Vasudeva | Tuesday, November 15, 2011


Future wars are likely to be fought over water due to its scarcity.

Tension builds up when an upper riparian country tries to control trans-boundary waterways. Population surge and industrialisation compel a country to control waterways, especially when such activities begin to affect the livelihood, ecology and growth of lower riparian countries.

Tension has been growing in South Asia due to China’s unilateral decision to construct dams and river diversion projects in Tibet.

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Since 1989, China has been planning to develop south-north water diversion projects partly driven by internal economic compulsions and partly by the desire to acquire a dominant external position.

The Tibetan plateau is the world’s largest water reservoir. Asia’s 10 major river systems including the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween and Mekong originate here. Of the world’s 6.92 billion people, it is the lifeline for nearly two billion (29%) in South Asia — from Afghanistan to the Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra basin and in Southeast Asia.

China has already built a barrage on the Sutlej. It started construction work to divert the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) in Tibet in November 2010.

There are also reports that China’s state-owned electric power companies have already contracted with the Tibetan Autonomous Region government for the development of hydropower in different rivers of Tibet. China is also working towards developing road connectivity with Nepal and other South Asian countries.

Some of these Chinese activities might affect Nepal because some of Nepal’s major rivers originate in Tibet before finally merging into the Ganga. Of them, the most important is Karnali (507 km), Nepal’s longest river. Parts of Nepal’s other major tributary systems also originate in Tibet. Similarly, the major tributaries of the Kosi, like the Sun Koshi/Bhote Koshi, the Tama Koshi and Arun originate in Tibet. Nepal would be affected seriously if dams and diversion projects were built in upper riparian Tibet on rivers like the Karnali in the west, Gandaki in the central and Kosi in the eastern part of the country.

Any diversion of waters from Nepalese rivers originating in Tibet would directly affect the Ganga’s flow.

Perhaps, China well understands what George Ginsburg wrote: that it could dominate the Himalayan piedmont by virtue of holding Tibet and by doing so it could even threaten the Indian subcontinent and thereby further threaten all of Southeast Asia and by extension all of Asia. This is one of the reasons why China has so far not signed any bilateral treaty in regard to the utilisation of water resources with any of its neighbours and has also not signed the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Waterways.

Of late, China has drawn strong opposition from 263 international NGOs for its effort to construct dams on the Mekong River. These NGOs feel that China has been using the water resources in Tibet as a political tool. As such, they want a moratorium on the lower Mekong dams for at least 10 years.

Tibetan land is delicate and it cannot absorb the damming, river water diversion projects, mining and transportation, industrial and other such activities, which would lead to receding glaciers in Tibet and in the Himalayas. Unfortunately, some of these activities might invite an eco-disaster resulting in the meltdown of Himalayan glaciers, further resulting in the drying of rivers.

The best strategy for the lower riparian countries should be to engage China in a dialogue process and persuading it not to construct dams and diversion projects on Tibetan rivers at the cost of environmental degradation and the livelihood of nearly two billion people living in India and Afghanistan, the Ganga-

Brahmaputra-Meghana basin and the Mekong basin countries including Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The writer is a Chandigarh-based columnist on international
relations and trade
vasu022@gmail.com

China Ache: After ASEAN, Myanmar might come closer to US

November 19, 2011

The developments last week mark a renewed focus on the part of US to wean away each one and everything it could from China.

1st: US President Barack Obama said in Australia on Thursday, on his last stop before ASEAN (Association of South East Asian) meetings in Indonesia, that the US military would expand in the Asia-Pacific and that America was “here to stay” as a Pacific power.

2nd: In the ASEAN meet the United States pushed for a trans-Pacific free trade agreement to ASEAN saying “lowering barriers” is the important and it “wants to work with” what is worlds’ economic powerhouse region.

3rd: In another ASEAN meet of business people, Clinton focused on the positive aspects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The initiative has already been joined by four ASEAN members (Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam) as well as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Peru.

4th: Come December 1, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be in Myanmar for a historic visit, the first in the last fifty years by a top US official, that could draw the country out of half a century of global isolation.

President Barack Obama said last Friday that he saw “flickers of progress” in Myanmar. Obama had spoken for the first time with Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of ASEAN meet.

After Suu Kyi’s release Burma has been showing signs of political reforms. Kyi’s National League for Democracy re-registered last week to fight by-elections. Myanmar has welcomed the visit.

Due to Western sanctions, China has emerged as Myanmar’s biggest ally, investing in infrastructure, hydropower dams and twin oil-and-gas pipelines and sea ports. But the relationship has been strained, with a long history of resentment of China among the Burmese population and fierce public opposition to a Chinese-built dam at Myitsone that prompted Myanmar President Thein Sein to shelve the project last month, a move that stunned Beijing.

Myanmar had been feeling the China heat for quite some time. That’s why the mellowing down in its attitude towards the west. Meanwhile, America’s growing worry about China’s growing ties with ASEAN and the recent heat in South China sea pushed it grab every Chinese that was willing to come its way.

Reuters reported that a US official said the Obama administration “fully expects” China to welcome US engagement with Myanmar and the United States would consult China closely on its engagement with the Southeast Asian country.

China is wary of greater US influence in the region, especially in countries on its border. But the US decision to engage with Myanmar should not be seen as an attempt to contain China, the US official said, adding that a stable Myanmar was in China’s interests.

“It’s about Burma, not about China,” the official said.

Southeast Asian nations endorsed Myanmar on Thursday for the chairmanship of its regional grouping in 2014. The United States said that it has no objection to ASEAN’s decision hoping this would be another incentive to the country’s leaders towards greater political reform.

India being another largest neighbour of Myanmar also has great stakes in political reform in Myanmar. India’s northeast could witness a turnaround if trade relations with Myanmar boom. Myanmar is also a critical link in India’s Look East policy

AN-32 resumes operation to Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh

Sushanta Talukdar

source: The Hindu  

Governor Gen (retd.) J.J. Singh inaugurates renovated Advanced Landing Ground there

Arunachal Pradesh Governor Gen (retd.) J.J. Singh accompanied by Air Marshal S. Varthaman, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, on Friday inaugurated the renovated Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) of Vijaynagar, a completely air-maintained and strategically located human settlement in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh and located at the tri-junction of India, Myanmar and China.

With the inauguration of the ALG, the operation of the transport aircraft AN-32 of the Indian Air Force — known as the workhorse of the IAF's transport fleet — to this inaccessible settlement also resumed after a long gap. Prior to suspension of the operation AN-32 in 2009 due to renovation work of the ALG, the IAF used to operate two civilian sorties every month from the Mohanbari airport in upper Assam's Dibrugarh district to Vijaynagar. In addition, there used to be three sorties a month for the Assam Rifles personnel guarding the strategic frontier. The old ALG was made up of Pierced Steel Plate (PSP) sheets and before every landing of an AN-32 the PSP sheets of the ALG needed to be fixed with wooden pegs which flew off as aircraft took off.

There is no road to Vijaynagar and no electricity for the over 6,000 population of the settlement that has 13 recognised villages and one unrecognised village. The only alternative to air transport is a six-day trek through a 157-km stretch of thick jungles through Namdapha, to reach Miao, the nearest town.

Changlang Deputy Commissioner Opak Gao toldThe Hinduthat after suspension of AN-32 operation, Vijaynagar was connected by helicopter service. However, due to suspension of Pawan Hans service in the wake of the helicopter tragedy in which the former Chief Minister, Dorjee Khandu, died, the helicopter service to Vijaynagar was also disrupted.

Alternative road

Mr. Gao said that the road from Miao to Vijaynagar through the Namdapha Reserve Forest was tried but the construction of the road was hampered by frequent landslips and disruption in supplies of construction material and equipment. “We are now trying to build an alternative road to Vijaynagar via Nampong which will be more than 200 km. The plan is that one Border Road Task Force (BRTF) company will be based at Nampong and will move to Vijaynagar and another BRTF company will be based at Vijaynagar and will move towards Nampong. ,” he added.

The colourful, little-known Lisu tribal people, who migrated from Myanmar in the 1930s, are the first settlers of Vijaynagar. The Nepali residents of this once ungoverned territory are ex-servicemen of the Assam Rifles and their families, settled there by the government of India between 1963-64 and 1970-71. An Assam Rifles outpost was opened in 1962.

Not for countering China: Air Chief

Staff Reporter from Bangalore writes:

The reactivation on Friday of the Vijaynagar airfield is part of a process to strengthen the infrastructure for increasing the accessibility to the northeast, and not for “countering” China, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said.

He was talking to journalists on the sidelines of the inaugural of the 51st annual conference of the Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine (ISAM).

He said the airfield was too small to operate fighter aircraft. In addition to AN-32, C-130 transport aircraft would also be operated from the airfield in due course.

Asked about the plan to acquire six additional C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from Lockheed Martin, he said the process would be concluded by January. The Air Chief also spoke about the acquisition of two Israeli Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft. “The proposal has just come to us from Israel Aerospace Industries. That proposal is being examined, and we will be sending that to the Ministry [for approval],” he said.

Earlier, speaking at the launch of the annual conference, of which theme this year is ‘Aerospace Medicine: The road ahead–new horizons and new challenges,' he stressed the need to bridge the gap between doctors and aviators.

The Air Chief presented the Chief of Air Staff rolling trophy for first primary aerospace medicine course to Flight Lieutenant Chandrasekhara Guru and the Air Vice Marshal M.M.J. Srinagesh Trophy for securing first rank in the 48th Advance Course in aerospace medicine to Lieutenant Commander S.K. Verma.

MMRCA deal winner to be announced next month

The winner of the contract to supply 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) to the Indian Air Force will be known by mid-December, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the winner of the Rs. 42,000-crore contract, touted to be India's biggest ever military supply deal, would be finalised by next month.

Two contenders remain in the fray: Eurofighter and Dassault's Rafale.

Asked whether there would be any cost-escalation, he said: “I can't tell you anything till the time we finish that work.”

Rise of China and the Stake of South Asian Powers



By Dr Sheo Nandan Pandey

China’s rise in the power corridors, both in regional and global perspectives, has evoked a measure of call out for a rethink of the world order in making. True or false, there is deja vu that the country could upbear Asia’s much awaited renaissance from the front. True or false again, there is fear of the unknown that the country could upset the cart unfathomably and turn a disaster. This is while the world of today is far more connected and adventure of any kind could spell disaster equally for the victor and the victim. Nevertheless, null hypothesis in either case is least likely to test positive. The correlation could, at best, stand ground only as ‘chance occurrence’.

China talks of its hexin liyi (core interest) as sacrosanct. The paper grapples with the concomitant issues: Could China’s ‘core interest’ projection hold water in the multipolar world of today? Could China enforce ‘Monroe Doctrine and if so, how do poor cousins of South Asia protect their regional collective and/ or individual? The assumptions include: China is a ‘dominant power’; inward looking and/ or otherwise, it could, as it has done in the past, cross the rubrics and act contrary to its professed policy line, be it hexie shijie (harmonious world) or heping jueqi (peaceful rise); and, last but not the least, couples of Chinese initiatives in South Asia, including the construction of Gwadar Port in Pakistan, Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, Sonadip deep-sea Port at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, held prospect of turning a launch pad for China’s future multi-dimensional strategic maneuvers in South Asia. In its perspective, the study schematically peeps into: the Quirk of Rise; Interest Articulations; Gullibility of South Asian States; Perspectives of Engagements; and, the Option and Alternatives to Cope with Dominant China.

Quirk of Rise

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is fast winding its ways a dominant power. The journey has been dotted with an array of events, which, in part was scripted and the rest a chance product in the run up. The mile stone is the dawn of Deng Xiaoping epoch. It all took place basically under the sway of myriad of happenings and developments, springing from the resolutions of the Third, Fourth and Fifth plenum of the 11th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, held respectively in Dec. 1978, Sep. 1979 and Feb. 1980. The 12th CPC Central Committee, convened in Sep. 1982 and the Fifth Session of the 5th National People’s Congress (NPC) do as well contributed to the watershed. The operative part of the change factor was strikingly plain and simple. It just meant dumping of ‘ideological barriers’ in deference to the ‘objective needs of the hour’, epitomized by the Cliché, “shishi qiushi” (seeking truth from facts), the system fit having come to called “you zhongguo tese de shicshang jingji” (Socialist Market Economy with Chinese Characteristics).

The trade off has thus far been a mixed box of delight and despair. The rosy side of the picture, in this context, constitutes of all time stunning improvements in the economic parameters. From a post liberation 1978 peak of Rmb 362.4 billion Yuan (US$147.3 billion), the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of the PRC literally leaped to reach Rmb 33,535.3 billion Yuan (US$4.98 trillion) in 2009.[i] In purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, it then worked out to be US$ 8.748 trillion. In the first nine months of 2010, the GDP of PRC reached Rmb 26.87 trillion Yuan (US$4.04 trillion). Not surprising then that Wendy Dobson and his ilk have come to visualize ‘gravity shift’ in international balance of economic power in not too distant a future in favour of Asian continent with the PRC in the front row.[ii] While one could argue at length and dispute prognosis of the kind, the shift from the then stiff doctrinaire to present day limp pragmatic approach to development is irrefutably at the back of transformation of China from ‘simple age old agrarian society’ to ‘fast emerging’ industrial society at meteoric pace. It could, as quite a few think-tanks hold, possibly lead the global economy from front to its third historic ‘super cycle’ phase in the next few decades.[iii]

The dark side is equally pronounced. Thanks to the abounding negative externalities to its skewed development model, the future existence of the PRC as a nation state, leave aside a reckonable force has come to be accepted with a caveat of whole hog ‘restructuring and rebalancing’. Beyond what was in store for the Chinese nation and its people in the long haul, there is widespread fear that the elements of fragility, thus generated in the bargain, could spell disaster for the World at large and South Asia in particular.[iv]It was slated to take place in many ways, including the PRC taking the rival to a ransom. The international community has just had real taste of this set of China’s insular conduct. No sooner it came close to overtake Japan as the second largest economy as a ‘chance outcome’, it got to flex its muscles to hurt Japan’s technological edge.[v] Armed with near monopoly in the proven reserves of rare earth elements, it stopped its exports to Japan as a bargain tool. This and many such other instances exposes China’s real life psycho-strategic face against much stated diplomatic articulations to project itself a responsible emerging global power. The strategic option for any competing and/ or competing power thus remains to cope with the rise of the PRC lest it should lose elbow space of crisis management.

Interest Articulations

Interest projection remains central to statecraft in China. This could be true of others and yet, there is sea of difference in articulations and uncommon tenacity. The explanation lay in the constants of China’s strategic culture, which subscribes and permits operational flexibility but does not let the core objectives and goals to get run down. There is thus one or the other system camouflage in each and every overtly stated policy lines and public assertion. The guiding foreign policy line of Hu Jintao epoch, for example, constitute of adherence to the tenets of ‘harmonious world’ and ‘peaceful rise’.[vi] Notwithstanding, it has been active in the backyard of each and every adversary of its interests around the world with diverse intent and purpose.

As for the South Asian countries, the PRC is the next door East Asian neighbour. [vii] While an outside element to socio-cultural and economic much less political life, the PRC has rather been a ‘behind the screen factor’ in the inter-country relations in the region. Notwithstanding meticulously articulated ‘good neighbour policy’ and ‘playing-well-with-others’ approach in foreign relations, the PRC broadly suffers trust deficits. In geographic, demographic and economic size, it towers one and all countries in the region.

China’s interest projection in South Asian countries tend to bypass constructively, in Joshua S. Goldstein’s words, the imperatives of ‘shared interest’.[viii] In the run up, collective interests in the region has been the victim of China’s self-serving individual interests. For long, until recently, the PRC stirred up ‘competing interest’ with some, in particular with comparable existing and/ or potential power and ‘collaborative interest’ as well as ‘cooperative interests’ with others. In all that, the PRC discernibly harboured long term strategic design to corner the potential power of the region. Scrumptious or otherwise, the Chinese machination has come to carve out and build a distinct niche for itself in the region. Faced with the challenges of global village life, the PRC is since projecting an overlap of the said competing, collaborative and cooperative interests, expressed in the cliché ‘strategic partnership’ with one or the other attributes such as ‘strategic cooperative partnership’, ‘constructive strategic partnership’ and the like. It encompasses both the civil and military domains and all major and minor countries of the region.

“There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests” – is an oft-quoted saying. In fact, national or permanent interest has formed part of the political and diplomatic vocabulary for centuries. A nation, by virtue of its location, evolution and political, ideological, social, cultural or economic complexion, is bound to regard certain sets of values, goals and relationships as being in its national or permanent interest contributing to its stability, security and standing in the world community. It might regard its permanent interests, so defined and delineated, as non-negotiable and beyond cavil. In that sense, China too has a right to place before itself and the comity of nations its own conception of what constitutes its permanent interests. It shall be little different from what Confucian doctrine hexin liyi (core interest) talk and the four successive generations of the communist leadership have held sacrosanct in different cliché coined in course of time.

The horizon of China’s interest projections in either form is set to muster dominance in the region both in relative and absolute terms. Not until the socio-political rumblings in peripheral China brings about cataclysmic changes in geopolitics and the political diktat of Beijing abruptly shrinks to the pre-colonial acquisitions to what is known as China proper, the PRC shall continue to tower one and all countries of South Asia there is in its geographic expanse.[ix] As of now, with territorial size of 9,572,900 square km (3,696,000 square miles), the PRC is nearly three times larger in size to India, the largest entity in the South Asian region.[x] It is over twice in size to whole of South Asian region. Having entered Stage-III of demographic transition, it can not stay on with its edge for long. It will have to yield its place to the South Asian region. Nevertheless, down the line in 1925, when the balance of World power, measured along relative share of growth and/ or decline in GDP, Defence capabilities, consumer spending, size of the working age population and the technological prowess, is estimated to undergo a major shift, and China’s political and economic clout could grow up from 12 percent now to 16 percent, the dominance of the PRC over South Asia shall be but fact of life.[xi]

Gullibility of South Asian Nations

Response propensities of the South Asia to the Chinese overtures provides glimpses what the proponents of ‘realism’, including Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince), and less often Sun Tzu (The art of War), Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan) and Hans J. Morgenthau (Politics among Nations) and some of the ‘neo-realists’, i.e., John Mearsheimer (The Tragedy of Great Power Politics) and Robert Gilpin (The Political Economy of International Relation), should have spoken of to happen. Raison d’etate and not normative values held any worth in their transactions. Piqued and harbouring grievances against each other, the South Asian countries have constantly played at the hands of the PRC. Nonetheless, they have seldom risen to the occasion as a cohesive group to guard against their collective interests much less bargain for ‘collective good’. As a group, unless otherwise, the South Asian countries stand prone to high risks of China’s interest projection of varying denominations.

Among the South Asian countries, Pakistan has constantly responded positive to China’s interest projection in the region. This excludes initial few years of the founding of the PRC and subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations.[xii] As the two sides willing to act with nearly identical intensity of intent and purpose, the interest projection on the part of PRC and corresponding response on the part of Pakistan measured highly ‘collaborative’. It has all been to find and provide anti India nexus for the two entities. In return for a grazing land measuring 1949 square Km (749.8 square miles) in disputed Hunza region, Pakistan recognized China’s sovereignty over 5180 square Km (2000.0 square miles) of Indian territory in Northern Kashmir and Ladakh.[xiii] The event has cataclysmic all time aftermath on the harmony and peace in the region. Instead of rising to the occasion, Pakistan literally toasted the Chinese aggression on the South Asian soil in Oct. 1962. Once cool, the Sino-Pakistan relation blossomed only thereafter.[xiv] Pakistan earning the accolades of ‘all weather ally’ of the PRC and the Chinese President using the metaphor ‘higher than the mountain and deeper than ocean’ to describe the intensity bonding of the two has perhaps invisible cost of Pakistan harming collective goods of South Asia for petty individual gains.[xv]

Though slightly different in form and shape, Bangladesh is next to Pakistan in the trajectory of interest projection of the PRC in the last three and a half decades. While ‘cooperative’ and ‘strategic partnership’ in form, the Chinese moves in Bangladesh seem to have been calibrated and chiseled with nearly same intent and purpose as in Pakistan. Propensities of the responses of the Bangladesh establishment have been forthright with occasional balancing acts in the favour ‘collective goods’ of the region.[xvi] Leaving aside the maxima and minima of diplomatic niceties, the poser of the Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni to her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in the course of their meeting in June 2009 that Bangladesh saw ‘China as its close friend and cooperation partner’ squarely defines the pathways to its responses to China’s interest projections.[xvii]

‘Friendship prices’ for the supply of military hardware could stand stead as ‘cooperative interest projection’ to certain a limit on the lines of infrastructure development initiatives. While this may not have direct bearing on the “collective good’ of the region, the intent of the Chinese interest projection has to be seen and understood in the light of its vulnerability to China’s pressure and persuasions.[xviii] Bangladesh navy and missile programme is since fully dependent on the PRC benevolence.[xix] Bangladesh Air Force is no different. China is optimistic to get foothold on Chittagong port on the lines of Gwadar port in Pakistan and Hambantota port in Sri Lanka. In the scenario, the ‘collective good’ of South Asia could be held at ransom.

China’s interest projection in Nepal has been multidimensional and complex. It has been aimed at influencing decision making at all levels, including the political process. With proxy soldiers in the form and shape of Maoists in place, the PRC has already got a voice in the drafting of the constitution. Plausible ramifications of the development include China’s inroads and neutralization of age old bonds of Nepal with South Asian sister countries. Nepal’s vulnerability to China’s interest projection onslaughts has been compounded due to political instability. Pitted and bitten with decades of political turmoil of its own kind, and lure of different kinds, Sri Lanka is as much vulnerable.[xx] While lucrative at face value, the Chinese funded projects in the Island country, including Hambantota Development Zone, could be source of China using pressure and persuasion antics to the detriments of ‘collective good’ of the region.[xxi]

Bhutan and Maldives are the other two constituents of South Asia. While tensions abound, Bhutan and China do not have even diplomatic relations. The two countries have hitherto engaged in 19 rounds of high level talks. Bhutan is aggrieved of Chinese encroachments of its territory. The trade relation is too minimal. China’s interest projection in Bhutan has been limited for a variety of reasons. In the case of Maldives, the PRC has been far more articulate. It has since established a naval base in Marao in Maldives. The trade relation is yet minimal. Neither of the two had potentials to counteract to China’s interest projections.

India’s response propensities to China’s interest projections have been rather measured. It has been true all through, be it when it was highly and/ or moderately competing during Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping epoch. It has been little different when the present leadership under Hu Jintao discernibly turned to a mix of assertive and accommodative postures that set real life challenges to its ‘core interests’. It has been little different again when the Chinese media, in particular the hardliner the Global Times has been characteristically up in the arms. Level exchanges at various multilateral and bilateral forum and robust trade characterize the positive aspects of the engagements.

Perspectives of Engagements

The risen China can be quintessentially a different entity to engage with. Conceptually speaking, the pathways to the PRC tryst to further its ‘core interest’ in the South Asian countries would constitute of a mix of pressures and persuasions techniques. The task will be easier once the PRC is able to build on the existing level of propensities of different constituent countries of South Asia to its interest projections. It may also need to recalibrate its interest projections to ward of avoidable rough patches.

Provided the words of Chinese think tanks, expressed on various websites, including http://www.wyzxsx.com, conveyed minds of the Chinese ruling elite, the PRC could then exude more confidence, draw on its increased comprehensive national power (CNP) to pit its ‘core interest’ over and above others, and last but not the least, use all means, including increased military muscles concomitant to its increased economic strength to sustain its new found dominance.

The issue has of late been agitating other sets of Chinese intellectuals as well. Views, in common, tend to gravitate around China’s future role in the international system. The forum included national and/ or international seminars organized by different Chinese institutions. In quite a few cases, the participants seem to fight shy to accept the proposition that the risen should demonstrate bellicose, emanating from its superiority over its rivals in its economic, scientific, technological and military strength. For long until the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee took a decision to withdraw the term from all official documents of reference, the Chinese academics, including Shanghai based think-tank Xia Liping and Jiang Xiyuan used to take cover of ‘peaceful rise’ thesis and rejected all suggestions that suggested the PRC taking to western route of super power behaviour. The same people now take refuse of the concept of ‘harmonious world’. The two extreme positions taken by the Chinese think-tanks suggest a measure of ambivalence. It may be real. It could be cloak as well. In either event, it is a testimony of the Chinese nation and its institutions getting exercised in tandem to brace new role of a ‘dominant power’ on its own terms.

This is substantiated from a large number of Chinese strategic documents, penned over the past decade, crystallizing approaches, methods and instruments that could stand stead in China’s efforts to bind, dilute, circumvent or supersede rival power. These documents do as well talk of the ways and means to weaken the enthusiasm of potential players, who stand supplementary and complementary to the rival in the region. The documents go to postulate different plausible pillars of the plan, including the imperatives to exploit temporary ‘windows of opportunity’ such as rifts or drift. The suggested measures comprise of economic aid, military assistance and cooperation in multilateral forum. All this is supposed to add to China’s existing political leverage with all prospective players.

The predicaments of the South Asian countries in accepting the dominance of the PRC as such passively appear to be quite critical to their core interests. There is a broad perspective for all the six countries of the region, where China’s interest projection measure a mix of collaborative, cooperative and strategic partnership as such. It has a very specific perspective for India, where China’s interest projection fall largely competing and in a small measure strategic. This is while China’s longer-term ascendance as the most dominant power is replete with significant hurdles.

A dominant China firstly, shall have strong interest in selling its brand of authoritarian capitalism to others and redefining both regional and international institutions to go by and work to serve largely its ‘core interest’. The assertion has a caveat of such regional and/ or international institution turning pliant to China’s power game. India’s rise with nearly equal socioeconomic fundamentals and its evident potentials to carry other constituents of South Asia may keep China in its place. Moreover, in the multipolar world of tomorrow, it was unlikely that the diktat of one power such as the PRC will rule the roost.

The PRC is hitherto investing heavily abroad. It is with an eye to secure oil and other strategic resources at its end. It has been transforming its green-water PLA Navy into a robust blue-water naval force with express geo-political objectives. Having put its ‘String of Pearls’ strategy in place, the PRC has not just secured its sea lane from its mainland coast through the littorals of the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the littorals of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf, it has potentials to pose challenges for all others in the South Asia as the rest of the world.[xxii] It could serve China’s neocolonial ambition at an appropriate junctures in times to come, and the South Asia with its geo-politics in flux could suffer the brunt of risen China. This second predicament of the South Asian country can test positive subject to the caveat that the fundamentals of various institution of South Asian countries, including India fall short of the minimum of their required standard, and the international system suffer irredeemable atrophy.

The third tight spot for the South Asian countries involved the risks of living with China’s astute mercantilism, which has led most, if not all trading partners around the world, to huge trade deficits, and concomitant negative aftermath on their economic health. This, too, could hold well on a caveat of array of factors, including the relative edge or otherwise of the South Asian countries to negotiate terms of trade and neutralize negative externalities of the Chinese business practices, in particular exchange rate manipulations and economic espionage.[xxiii]

Finally, the forging of viable coalitions to deny, delimit or even contain China’s interest projection has so far worldwide proved illusory. No South Asian country with notable exception of India today or in the foreseeable future was likely to contest China in whatsoever manner. The scenario puts China in total command to use the instrumentalities of pressure and/ or persuasion to carve its niche in South Asia. It could hypothetically cost freedom of action for the South Asian countries in their conduct of international relations. ‘Collective interest’ of the region thus, could suffer a blow. The caveat could be relative capability of the South Asian region to convert the challenges into opportunities.

Options and Alternatives to Cope with Dominant China

Writing in the July 23, 2010 issue of The Diplomat, an international current-affairs magazine, Patrick Cronin and Paul Giarra maintained that China’s growing assertiveness gave glimpses of Chinese version of Monroe Doctrine.[xxiv] China’s maritime territorial claims in South China Sea and China’s vitriolic response to U.S.-South Korean maneuvers in the Yellow Sea then happened to be the cases in point. The fact remains that the architects of the Monroe Doctrine coveted American primacy in the Western Hemisphere. Unlike China, they never dreamt of laying claim to waters that washed against their nation’s shores, or of excluding foreign navies from these expanses. Quite a few Chinese think-tanks, including Vincent Wang continue to deny such a possibility when China will profess a similar doctrine or strong-arm its neighbours.[xxv]China’s territorial claims in South Asia and its diplomatic maneuvers thereof stand living testimony contrary to the contentions of the Chinese academics and officials. Interestingly, the Chinese version of Monroe Doctrine touches upon far more realms beyond territorial integrity and sovereignty of the South Asian region.

While the imperatives to cope creatively with China’s rise to dominance remain open to all the constituents of South Asia, it is just India who could meaningfully call the shot. “Strong abroad but fragile at home” China was prone to hitch a “Local War under Informatization Conditions”. It was yet possible only when the calculations to throw China’s ‘peaceful rise’ and/ or ‘harmonious world’ to the winds over weighed the perceived all round gains. Notwithstanding, It will entail China to muster a thoroughly integrated technological, doctrinaire, operational, and organizational capabilities, which it can acquire not so soon.

China is undergoing a transformation process, which is unparallel in its living history. South Asian countries, including India has to reckon and live with this truth. The dynamics of policy responses must take the present balance sheet with its strategic cultural past. Areas of mutual interests and areas of potential conflicts have to be crystallized and weighed. China’s Achilles heel, in particular the difficulties in managing dissents, has to part of the bargaining chip.

Much as an objective fact, the PRC has dropped past the rhetoric regimes. Occasional outbursts are more often than not calculated moves to draw bargain points. Global China is part of both the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization. At regional level, in particular in Asia Pacific region, the PRC is active at Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Council for Security Cooperation in Asia Pacific (CSCAP), ASEAN plus three Mechanisms together with Japan and South Korea. No wonder that the PRC of today is far more positive and rational with international commitment than what it used to be in yesteryears.

There is perceptible change in its approach with rivals. It is since engaged the Russian Federation in a strategic partnership. The travel was of course quite tortuous in over all perspective. It happened only when the Chinese leadership weighed the cost of estrangement to the benefit of engagement. ‘Treaty on Good Neighbourly Friendship’ (2001) and ‘Mechanism of Bilateral Security Consultations (2005)’ have since been working well. Inconsistencies and ambivalence apart, the PRC has displayed far better understanding of the Indian position now than ever.

In keeping with what China can ultimately afford to be, the policy and programme responses of South Asia as while and India in particular has to be creatively even handed. It has to run on merit, keeping independence of decisions as the guiding principle. It has done it in the past even during thick of estrangement. Be it UN seat or any other issues in the multilateral forum, India has lived up to principles.

There is theoretical option to go by ‘Balance of Power’, ‘Balance of Threat’ and ‘National Security’ theories, sacrosanct to Realist and/ or Neo-realist schools of international relations. One could think of a hybrid of the three theories. The same could be said to be true with the six approaches of Moore and Turner (2005).[xxvi] The crux is to cope with the rival power in the anarchical world to evade outbreak of disastrous war. In the context of interest projections, the scope of such a war encompasses all conceivable forms of show of dominance.

Almost in consonance to Realist and/ or Neo-realist approaches, the Chinese think-tank talk of comprehensive national power (CNP), which is a sum of hard and soft powers. Hard power relates to military prowess while soft power is all about economic and cultural attributes. According to a Chinese government sponsored think-tank group, the PRC and India respectively stood at 6th and 10th pedestal with a score of 59.10 points and 50.43 points each in 2006. USA was then the top scorer. With better performance of the economic component of the Soft power in post global recession world of today, China’s ranking must have improved by a few notches. The same is expected about India. The South Asian countries with India in lead role have to improve its CNP still further to cope with China’s apparent dominance.

Interdependence is the hall mark of existence in the new millennia. It would perhaps mark end of Darwinism. No big fish can exist without small fishes around in the same pond. China’s hard power ascendance is discernible. However, it can not be sustained endlessly. While an open question, the PRC has to address dissents lest the soft factors will give way. The South Asia, too, has its share of gloom on this score. It will have to address them promptly and adequately. It will simultaneously have to focus on ‘collective good’, which they tend to sacrifice as a group for avoidable historic reasons.

(Dr. Sheonandan Pandey is a China watcher with a long stint in the Government of India and finally retied from National Technical Research Organization. He can be contacted at sheonandan@hotmail.com)

End Notes

[i] http://www.chinability/com/GDP.htm

[ii] Dobson, Wendy, Gravity Shift: How Asia’s New Economic Power House will Shape the Twenty-first Century, University of Toronto Press.

[iii] The first two super cycle phases, auguring epoch of high global economic growth, first during1870-1913 and then from 1945 until 1973, belonged to the western world and the beneficiaries were a small proportion of the world. In the third epoch, coming around 2030, the beneficiaries could be around 85 percent of the global population. According to a latest estimates, credited primarily to Peter Sands, the Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, China’s populace will come to garner 24 percent of the global GDP, nearly 2.6 times more than now.

[iv]Susan L. Shirk (2007), China: Fragile Superpower: How China’s Internal Politics Could Derail its Peaceful Rise, USA: Oxford University Press.

[v] China’s fete in overtaking Japan as the second largest economy after the US is a chance outcome, much in conformity with what is known as scissor action in development economics, discernible in comparative and contrasting perspectives of an upcoming as against a maturing economy, devoid of much needed incubating, fostering and accelerating technological conditions.

[vi]The phrase ‘Harmonious World’ was first pronounced by Hu at the Afro-Asian Summit in Jakarta in April 2005. It later formed part of the Chinese Paper on Peaceful Development in 2005. The catchphrase serves as ploy to suggest China’s philosophical tradition, contained in the Chinese character ‘he’, meaning harmony and peace. Nonetheless, the cliché has given China a face. It genuinely needs harmony and peace to end its alienation to be part of the global village of today and tomorrow.

[vii] UN officially identifies five regions of the Asian continent. They are: Central Asia; Eastern Asia; Southern Asia; South-Eastern Asia; and, Western Asia.

[viii] Goldstein, Joshua S. and Pevehouse, Jon C., (2008) Principles of International Relations, UK: Longman

[ix] Chinese civilization discernibly developed from a core region in the North China Plain. Over millennia, it expanded n the course of hundreds of conquests. Han and Tang dynasties were particularly notorious. The Fifteen and/ or Eighteen Province (Shiwu Sheng/Shiba Sheng) system that rules the roost during Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty respectively did not incorporate several political units of present day China.

[x] Encyclopedia Britannica.

[xi] Joint US-EU report, Global Governance 2025: At a Critical Juncture, released on Sep. 20, 2010, estimates China’s global power moving up 33 percent from 12 to 16 percent. The report says that India’s global power will then grow by 25 percent from 8 to 10 percent. It estimates US global power to suffer a decline from 22 to 18 percent. http://www.acus.org/event/global-governance-2025-critical-juncture

[xii] While Pakistan established diplomatic relation with the PRC right on May 21, 1951, it was cool on several issues including UN seat. It was since Pakistan then happened to be an ally of the western world. Things changed after two sessions of talks between the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Ali on the sidelines of Bandung Conference in April 1955. Pakistan has since been playing second fiddle to the PRC just to counterweight India.

[xiii] Chinese and Pakistan Foreign Ministers Chen Yi and Zulfikar Ali Bhuttoo signed Sino-Pakistan Frontier Agreement and Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement in 1963. The negotiation had taken place on October 13, 1962 and March 02, 1963. This is at the back of Kashmir dispute not finding solution and, India and Pakistan spilling blood in bloody wars time and again.

[xiv] Dobell, W.M. (Autumn 1964). “Ramifications of the China-Pakistan Border Treaty”. Pacific Affairs 37 (3):283-95.

[xv] China has substantially replaced the US, especially in quality of political, economic, technological and military support. While it has been a long time story, there is perceptible change since 1990’s after the US imposed military sanctions. It overshadows the US efforts. China has provided all sensitive missile and nuclear technology.

[xvi] China took nearly five years to get over Pakistan factor to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Bangladesh in 1975. The often repeated Chinese advice to Bangladesh to pursue an independent foreign policy carry unstated message to get to de-link itself with India.

[xvii] Xinhua News Agency, June 26, 2009.

[xviii] The long list of critical Chinese military hardware supplies to Bangladesh since include: 65 artillery guns and 114 missiles and related systems; most of the T-59, T-62, T-69, and T-79 tanks; a large number of armoured personnel carriers (APCs); and, artillery pieces and small arms. There are, besides, plans to acquire 155mm PLZ-45/Type-88 and 122mm Type-96 as well MBRLs.

[xix] The Chinese platforms in its possession Bangladesh Navy include the 053-H1 Jianghu I class frigates with 4x HY2 missiles, Huang Feng Class missile boats, Type-024 missile boats, Huchuan and P-4 class torpedo boats, Hainan class sub chasers, Shanghai class gun boats and Yuchin class LCUs. Warships such as BNS Osman are but 1500-ton China built Jianghu Class warship.

[xx] China and Sri Lanka have leaped forward in their engagements after Mahinda Rajapaksa took over the rein of the Island country in 2005 in the backdrop of the former endorsing and supporting Sri Lanka in its ethnic strife, spearheaded by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE). Chinese lure to Sri Lanka included aids and financial assistance. In 2009, Sri Lanka received US$1.2 billion in aid from the PRC, which accounts for over half of the total aid received from rest of the world. Since 2006, the PRC has provided US$3.06 billion in financial assistance for various projects.

[xxi]A consortium of Chinese companies, led by China Harbour Engineering company and the Sino-Hydro Corporation has financed 85 percent of the estimated total cost of US$ 1.5 billion for the Hambantota Port Project, which, on completion, will include a liquefied natural gas refinery, aviation fuel storage facilities, three separate docks that will give the port transshipment capacity, dry docks for ship repair and construction, and bunkering and refueling facilities. Besides, China is involved in the construction works of a second international airport at Hambantota, a $248 million expressway connecting the capital Colombo with the airport at Katunayake, an $855 million coal power plant at Norochcholai, and a performing arts theater in Colombo.

[xxii] The ‘String of Pearls’ refers to China’s naval strategy, which, in China’s calculation, has had potentials fulfilling its ambition of attaining a great power status in conventional terms of balance of power besides securing a self-determined, peaceful and prosperous future. Each “pearl” in the “String of Pearls” is a nexus of Chinese geopolitical influence or military presence.4 Hainan Island, with recently upgraded military facilities, is a “pearl.” An upgraded airstrip on Woody Island, located in the Paracel archipelago 300 nautical miles east of Vietnam, is a “pearl.” A container shipping facility in Chittagong, Bangladesh, is a “pearl.” Construction of a deep water portin Sittwe, Myanmar, is a “pearl,” as is the construction of a navy base in Gwadar, Pakistan.5 Port and airfield construction projects, diplomatic ties, and force modernization form the essence of China’s “String of Pearls.”

[xxiii] Dr Pandey, Sheo Nandan, China’s Economic Espionage Prowess, ISPSW Publications, Nov. 08, 2010 http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/publications/Detail/?id=123518

[xxiv] Patrick Cronin and Paul Giarra, China’s Monroe Doctrine, The Diplomat, July 23, 2010 http://www.realclearworld.com/2010/07/23/china’s_monroe_doctrine_113638.html

[xxv] Vincent Wang, China ASEAN Free Trade Area: A Chinese “Monroe Doctrine” or “Peaceful Rise”, China Brief,Vol:9, Issue 17,August 20, 2009.

[xxvi] The six approaches of Moore and turner are anthologies of the approaches, proposed by different schools of international relations at different points of time. They are: Balance of Power Approach; Collective Security Approach; World Federalist Approach; Functionalist Approach; Democratic Peace Approach; and, the Incentive Approach.

About the author:
SAAG

SAAG is the South Asia Analysis Group, a non-profit, non-commercial think tank. The objective of SAAG is to advance strategic analysis and contribute to the expansion of knowledge of Indian and International security and promote public understanding.

Joint press conference by U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao - White House release

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AP U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao during joint press conference in Washington on Wednesday.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to welcome President Hu to the White House and to return the hospitality that he showed when I visited China last year. This is our eighth meeting. Together we’ve shown that the United States and China, when we cooperate, can receive substantial benefits.

The positive, constructive, cooperative U.S.-China relationship is good for the United States. We just had a very good meeting with the business leaders from both our countries. They pointed out that China is one of the top markets for American exports. We’re now exporting more than $100 billion a year in goods and services to China, which supports more than half a million American jobs. In fact, our exports to China are growing nearly twice as fast as our exports to the rest of the world, making it a key part of my goal of doubling American exports and keeping America competitive in the 21st century.

Cooperation between our countries is also good for China. China’s extraordinary economic growth has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. And this is a tribute to the Chinese people. But it’s also thanks to decades of stability in Asia made possible by America’s forward presence in the region, by strong trade with America, and by an open international economic system championed by the United States of America.

Cooperation between our countries is also good for the world. Along with our G20 partners, we’ve moved from the brink of catastrophe to the beginning of global economic recovery. With our Security Council partners, we passed and are enforcing the strongest sanctions to date against Iran over its nuclear program. We’ve worked together to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula. And most recently, we welcomed China’s support for the historic referendum in southern Sudan.

As we look to the future, what’s needed, I believe, is a spirit of cooperation that is also friendly competition. In areas like those that I just mentioned, we will cooperate -— forging partnerships and making progress that neither nation can achieve alone. In other areas, we’ll compete -— a healthy competition that spurs both countries to innovate and become even more competitive. That’s the kind of relationship I see for the United States and China in the 21st century, and that’s the kind of relationship that we advanced today.

I am very pleased that we’ve completed dozens of deals that will increase U.S. exports by more than $45 billion and also increase China’s investment in the United States by several billion dollars. From machinery to software, from aviation to agriculture, these deals will support some 235,000 American jobs. And that includes many manufacturing jobs. So this is great news for America’s workers.

I did also stress to President Hu that there has to be a level playing field for American companies competing in China, that trade has to be fair. So I welcomed his commitment that American companies will not be discriminated against when they compete for Chinese government procurement contracts. And I appreciate his willingness to take new steps to combat the theft of intellectual property.

We’re renewing our long-running cooperation in science and technology, which sparks advances in agriculture and industry. We’re moving ahead with our U.S.-China clean energy research center and joint ventures in wind power, smart grids and cleaner coal. I believe that as the two largest energy consumers and emitters of greenhouses gases, the United States and China have a responsibility to combat climate change by building on the progress at Copenhagen and Cancun, and showing the way to a clean energy future. And President Hu indicated that he agrees with me on this issue.

We discussed China’s progress in moving toward a more market-oriented economy and how we can ensure a strong and balanced global economic recovery. We agreed that in China, this means boosting domestic demand; here in the United States, it means spending less and exporting more.

I told President Hu that we welcome China’s increasing the flexibility of its currency. But I also had to say that the RMB remains undervalued, that there needs to be further adjustment in the exchange rate, and that this can be a powerful tool for China boosting domestic demand and lessening the inflationary pressures in their economy. So we’ll continue to look for the value of China’s currency to be increasingly driven by the market, which will help ensure that no nation has an undue economic advantage.

To advance our shared security, we’re expanding and deepening dialogue and cooperation between our militaries, which increases trust and reduces misunderstandings.

With regard to regional stability and security in East Asia, I stressed that the United States has a fundamental interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, unimpeded commerce, respect for international law and the peaceful resolution of differences.

I welcomed the progress that’s been made on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in reducing tensions and building economic ties. And we hope this progress continues, because it’s in the interest of both sides, the region and the United States. Indeed, I reaffirmed our commitment to a one-China policy based on the three U.S.-China communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act.

I told President Hu that we appreciated China’s role in reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and we agreed that North Korea must avoid further provocations. I also said that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program is increasingly a direct threat to the security of the United States and our allies. We agreed that the paramount goal must be complete denuclearization of the peninsula. In that regard, the international community must continue to state clearly that North Korea’s uranium enrichment program is in violation of North Korea’s commitments and international obligations.

With respect to global security, I’m pleased that we’re moving ahead with President Hu’s commitment at last year’s Nuclear Security Summit for China to establish a center of excellence, which will help secure the world’s vulnerable nuclear materials.

To prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, we agreed that Iran must uphold its international obligations and that the U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran must be fully enforced.

Along with our P5-plus-1 partners, we’ll continue to offer the government of Iran the opportunity for dialogue and integration into the international community, but only if it meets its obligations.

I reaffirmed America’s fundamental commitment to the universal rights of all people. That includes basic human rights like freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association and demonstration, and of religion -- rights that are recognized in the Chinese constitution. As I’ve said before, the United States speaks up for these freedoms and the dignity of every human being, not only because it’s part of who we are as Americans, but we do so because we believe that by upholding these universal rights, all nations, including China, will ultimately be more prosperous and successful.

So, today, we’ve agreed to move ahead with our formal dialogue on human rights. We’ve agreed to new exchanges to advance the rule of law. And even as we, the United States, recognize that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China, the United States continues to support further dialogue between the government of China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve concerns and differences, including the preservation of the religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people.

Finally, we continue to expand partnerships between our people, especially our young people. Today, my wife Michelle is highlighting our efforts to increase the number of American students studying in China to 100,000. And I am very pleased that President Hu will be visiting my hometown of Chicago.

Mr. President, you are brave to visit Chicago in the middle of winter. I have warned him that the weather may not be as pleasant as it is here today. (Laughter.) But I know that in the students and the businesspeople that you meet, you will see the extraordinary possibilities of partnership between our citizens.

So, again, I believe that we’ve helped to lay the foundation for cooperation between the United States and China for decades to come. And Michelle and I look forward to hosting President Hu for a state dinner tonight to celebrate the deep ties between our people, as well as our shared hopes for the future.

President Hu.

PRESIDENT HU: (As translated.) Friends from the press, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

First of all, I want to express sincere appreciation to President Obama and the government and people of the United States for the warm welcome accorded to me and my colleagues.

Just now I have had talks with President Obama in a candid, pragmatic and constructive atmosphere. We had an in-depth exchange of views and reached important agreement on China-U.S. relations, and major international and regional issues of shared interest. We reviewed the development of China-U.S. relations in the last two years. We positively assessed the progress we made in dialogue, coordination and cooperation in various areas. The Chinese side appreciates President Obama’s commitment to a positive and constructive China policy, and to stable and growing China-U.S. relations since he took office.

Both President Obama and I agree that as mankind enters the second decade of the 21st century, the international situation continues to undergo profound and complex changes and there is a growing number of global challenges. China and the United States share expanding common interests and shoulder increasing common responsibilities.

China-U.S. cooperation has great significance for our two countries and the world. The two sides should firmly adhere to the right direction of our relationship; respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests; promote the long-term sound and steady growth of China-U.S. relations; and make even greater contributions to maintaining and promoting world peace and development.

We both agree to further push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship and commit to work together to build a China-U.S. cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit, so as to better benefit people in our own countries and the world over.

We both agree to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in economy and trade, energy and the environment, science and technology, infrastructure construction, culture and education, counterterrorism, nonproliferation, law enforcement and other areas so as to achieve mutual benefit.

During my current visit to the United States, the relevant departments, institutions and enterprises of the two countries have signed a number of cooperation agreements and reached agreement on a series of new cooperation projects. These will inject fresh momentum into our bilateral cooperation and create a great many job opportunities for both countries.

We discussed some disagreements in the economic and trade area, and we will continue to appropriately resolve these according to the principle of mutual respect and consultation on an equal footing.

The President and I agree that China and the United States need to establish a pattern of high-level exchanges featuring in-depth communication and candid dialogue. President Obama and I will stay in close contact through meetings, telephone calls and letters. The two sides believe that the expansion of exchanges and cooperation between our militaries contribute to deepening mutual trust between our two countries and to the growth of our overall relationship.

We also agreed to encourage all sectors of our society to carry out various forms of exchange activities. In particular, we have high hopes on the young people, hoping that they will better understand each other’s country and be more deeply involved in the people-to-people exchanges between our two countries.

President Obama and I exchanged views on the international economic situation. We believe the world economy is slowly recovering from the international financial crisis, but there are still a fair amount of unstable factors and uncertainties. Both sides agree to strengthen microeconomic policy coordination and actively pursue opportunities for greater cooperation in this process.

The two sides support the G20 playing a bigger role in international economic and financial affairs. We agree to push forward reform of the international financial system and improve global economic governance. We champion free trade and oppose protectionism, and we hope the Doha Round of negotiations can make early and substantive progress.

President Obama and I exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Iranian nuclear issue, climate change and others. We agree to strengthen consultation and coordination on major issues that concern peace and development in the Asia Pacific region and in the world.

China and the United States will enhance coordination and cooperation and work with the relevant parties to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, promote denuclearization of the peninsula, and achieve lasting peace and security in Northeast Asia.

We will work with the United States and other countries to effectively address global challenges, such as meeting the climate challenge, terrorism, transnational crime, energy and resource security, food security, public health security and serious natural disasters, so as to forge a bright future for the world.

I stated to the President that China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development and a win-win strategy of opening up. China is a friend and partner of all countries, and China’s development is an opportunity for the world.

That’s all. Thank you.

MR. GIBBS: Ben Feller with the Associated Press.

Q Thank you very much. I’d like to address both leaders, if I may.

President Obama, you’ve covered the broad scope of this relationship, but I’d like to follow up specifically on your comments about human rights. Can you explain to the American people how the United States can be so allied with a country that is known for treating its people so poorly, for using censorship and force to repress its people? Do you have any confidence that as a result of this visit that will change?

And if I may, on an unrelated topic, I’d like to know what you make of the speculation that the gentleman in front of me, Ambassador Huntsman, might run against you in 2012.

And, President Hu, I’d like to give you a chance to respond to this issue of human rights. How do you justify China’s record, and do you think that’s any of the business of the American people?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: First of all, let me just say I think Ambassador Huntsman has done an outstanding job as ambassador for the United States to China. He is a Mandarin speaker. He has brought enormous skill, dedication, and talent to the job. And the fact that he comes from a different party I think is a strength, not a weakness, because it indicates the degree to which both he and I believe that partisanship ends at the water’s edge, and that we work together to advocate on behalf of our country.

So I couldn’t be happier with the Ambassador’s service. And I’m sure he will be very successful in whatever endeavours he chooses in the future. (Laughter.) And I’m sure that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in any Republican primary. (Laughter.)

Let me address the other issue, and a very serious issue. China has a different political system than we do. China is at a different stage of development than we are. We come from very different cultures with very different histories. But, as I’ve said before and I repeated to President Hu, we have some core views as Americans about the universality of certain rights -- freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly -- that we think are very important and that transcend cultures.

I have been very candid with President Hu about these issues. Occasionally, they are a source of tension between our two governments. But what I believed is the same thing that I think seven previous Presidents have believed, which is, is that we can engage and discuss these issues in a frank and candid way, focus on those areas where we agree, while acknowledging there are going to be areas where we disagree.

And I want to suggest that there has been an evolution in China over the last 30 years since the first normalization of relations between the United States and China. And my expectation is that 30 years from now we will have seen further evolution and further change.

And so, what my approach will continue to be is to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the Chinese people, their extraordinary civilization; the multiple areas in which we have to cooperate not only for the sakes of our countries but also for the sakes of the world; to acknowledge that we’re going to have certain differences and to be honest as I think any partner needs to be honest when it comes to how we view many of these issues.

And so that frank and candid assessment on our part will continue. But that doesn’t prevent us from cooperating in these other critical areas.

I apologize. I thought we had simultaneous translation there. So I would have broken up the answer into smaller bites.

Q (Speaking in Chinese.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I'm sorry, I'm getting it in Chinese.

Q I’m from China Central Television. There is an old saying in China that a good relationship between the two peoples holds the key to a sound relationship between states. We know that to further strengthen the public support for the development of this relationship is also very important to the sustained, sound, and steady growth of our relations. So, President Hu Jintao, I would like to ask you the question, what do you think that the two countries need to do to further increase the friendship and mutual understanding between the Chinese and American peoples?

At the same time, we have also noted that the U.S. side has been saying that the United States is willing to see a stronger and more prosperous China. So I would like to ask President Obama, that deep in your heart, do you really think that you can live comfortably with a constantly growing China? And also this question, that what do you think that China’s development really means to the United States?

PRESIDENT HU: (As translated.) I would like to take this question from the lady journalist. I think that the exchanges between our two peoples represent the basis and the driving force behind the growth of our relationship. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries, we have seen more robust exchanges between our two peoples. And such exchanges have also helped promote the steady growth of our relationship.

The statistics I have show that each year we have about 3 million people traveling between our two countries. In other words, on every single day, about 7,000 to 8,000 will be traveling between China and the United States. This is something hardly conceivable 32 years ago when we first established diplomatic ties.

In addition, we have also seen very broad-ranging development of the exchanges at sub-national level. So far, our two countries have already established sister relationships between 36 provinces and states, and we have also developed 161 pairs of sister cities between our two countries.

The Chinese government is supportive of the friendly exchanges between our two peoples, and we have been creating all kinds of conditions to expand the friendly exchanges between the American and the Chinese peoples.

During this visit, President Obama and I reached an agreement that both sides will take positive steps to further increase the people-to-people exchanges. On one hand, we will encourage the young people in our two countries to go to each other’s countries to pursue further education and to learn more about each other. And at the same time, we have also decided to put in place dialogue and exchange mechanisms between different Chinese and American provinces and states.

Besides, we are also going to further expand cultural exchanges and develop tourism. We are going to use a variety of means to further increase people-to-people exchanges.

I would like to particularly stress here that the young people hold the future of this relationship. It is extremely important to increase the exchanges between the young people in our two countries. Through such exchanges, I hope that our friendship can be furthered. And I also hope that they in the future can serve as ambassadors of goodwill for our two countries, and they can make even more positive contribution to the development of a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Let me respond briefly to your question. I absolutely believe that China’s peaceful rise is good for the world and it’s good for America. First of all, it’s good for humanitarian reasons. The United States has an interest in seeing hundreds of millions of people lifted out of poverty. We believe part of justice and part of human rights is people being able to make a living and having enough to eat and having shelter and having electricity.

And the development of China has brought unprecedented economic growth to more people more quickly than just about any time in history. And that's a positive good for the world and it’s something that the United States very much appreciates and respects.

We also think that China’s rise offers enormous economic opportunity. We want to sell you all kinds of stuff. (Laughter.) We want to sell you planes. We want to sell you cars. We want to sell you software. And as President Hu and his government refocuses the economy on expanding domestic demand, that offers opportunities for U.S. businesses, which ultimately translates into U.S. jobs.

It also means that as China’s standards of living rise, they have more purchasing power. I mean, something that I think we have to remind ourselves is that the United States’ economy is still three times larger than China’s despite having one-quarter of the population. So per-capita income is still very different between the two countries. And as China’s per-capita income rises, that offers an opportunity for increased trade and commercial ties that benefit both countries.

And finally, China’s rise is potentially good for the world. To the extent that China is functioning as a responsible actor on the world stage, to the extent that we have a partner in ensuring that weapons of mass destruction don't fall into the hands of terrorists or rogue states, to the extent that we have a partner in dealing with regional hotspots, to the extent that we have a partner in addressing issues like climate change or a pandemic, to the extent that we have a partner who is helping poorer countries in Asia or in Africa further develop so that they, too, can be part of the world economy -- that is something that can help create stability and order and prosperity around the world. And that's the kind of partnership that we’d like to see.

And it’s more likely to come -- if China feels secure and itself is doing well economically, they’re more likely to be an effective partner with us on the world stage.

MR. GIBBS: Hans Nichols from Bloomberg.

Q Thank you, Mr. President, President Hu. President Obama, with your respect and permission, because of the translation questions, could I direct one first to President Hu?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Of course.

Q Thank you.

President Hu, first off, my colleague asked you a question about human rights, which you did not answer. I was wondering if we could get an answer to that question.

And then also, on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner are not attending tonight’s state dinner. Many on Capitol Hill see China as an economic threat. What can you do to allay their fears?

PRESIDENT HU: (As translated.) First, I would like to clarify, because of the technical translation and interpretation problem, I did not hear the question about the human rights. What I know was that he was asking a question directed at President Obama. As you raise this question, and I heard the question properly, certainly I’m in a position to answer that question.

President Obama and I already met eight times. Each time we met, we had an in-depth exchange of views in a candid manner on issues of shared interest and on issues toward each other’s concerns. And on the issues we have covered, we also discussed human rights.

China is always committed to the protection and promotion of human rights. And in the course of human rights, China has also made enormous progress, recognized widely in the world.

China recognizes and also respects the universality of human rights. And at the same time, we do believe that we also need to take into account the different and national circumstances when it comes to the universal value of human rights.

China is a developing country with a huge population, and also a developing country in a crucial stage of reform. In this context, China still faces many challenges in economic and social development. And a lot still needs to be done in China, in terms of human rights.

We will continue our efforts to improve the lives of the Chinese people, and we will continue our efforts to promote democracy and the rule of law in our country. At the same time, we are also willing to continue to have exchanges and dialogue with other countries in terms of human rights, and we are also willing to learn from each other in terms of the good practices.

As President Obama rightly put it just now, though there are disagreements between China and the United States on the issue of human rights, China is willing to engage in dialogue and exchanges with the United States on the basis of mutual respect and the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. In this way, we’ll be able to further increase our mutual understanding, reduce our disagreements, and expand our common ground.

As for the latter question about the attendance at the state dinner by some Congress people, as to who will attend and who will not attend, and for what reasons, I think President Obama is certainly in a better position to answer that question. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Is that the question you want to pose to me, Hans? (Laughter.) You get one.

Q I have a question about exports and jobs.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Okay.

Q You’ve just spoken about some of the deals that you’ve sealed here, about the importance of exports -- your own goal of doubling of exports to your job strategy. At the same time you said there needs to be further adjustment in the exchange rate and the RMB is undervalued.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yes.

Q To what extent does China’s depressing of its currency affect your ability to grow jobs in this country and lower the unemployment rate?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I think that it is important for us to look at the entire economic relationship, and the currency issue is one part of it.

The first time I met President Hu was in April of 2009. And this was the first G20 summit that I attended, when we were in the midst of the worst financial crisis that we had experienced since the 1930s. And even as we were trying to stabilize the financial system, what was absolutely clear was that we couldn’t go back to a system in which the United States was borrowing massively, consuming massively, but not producing and selling to the rest of the world, creating these huge imbalances that helped contribute to the crisis. And that’s why we pushed and why the G20 adopted a framework that called for rebalancing the world economy.

Now, that gives us some responsibilities. We’ve got to save more in this country. We’ve got to cut back on these huge levels of debt both in the private sector but also in the private sector. It also means that there are structural reforms that we have to undergo to make ourselves more competitive in the world economy. So, making sure that we have the best education system in the world, that we’re producing more engineers than lawyers, making sure that we have a handle on our fiscal problems, making sure that we’ve got a world-class infrastructure -- those are all important parts of us being competitive and being able to export.

It does also mean, though, that we have a level playing field when it comes to our trading partners. And so, with respect to China, what President Hu and myself and our delegations have discussed is how do we make sure that in fact our trading relationship is fair and a win-win situation as opposed to a win-lose situation.

Some of that has to do with issues completely unrelated to currency. For example, we’re making progress on making sure that the government procurement process in China is open and fair to American businesses. And we’ve made progress as a consequence of this state visit.

Some of it has to do with intellectual property protection. So we were just in a meeting with business leaders, and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft pointed out that their estimate is that only one customer in every 10 of their products is actually paying for it in China. And so can we get better enforcement, since that is an area where America excels -- intellectual property and high-value added products and services.

And the Chinese government has, to its credit, taken steps to better enforce intellectual property. We’ve got further agreement as a consequence of this state visit. And I think President Hu would acknowledge that more needs to be done.

But the currency issue is a part of the problem. The RMB is undervalued. The Chinese government has intervened very forcefully in the currency markets. They’ve spent $200 billion just recently, and that's an indication of the degree to which it’s still undervalued.

President Hu has indicated he’s committed to moving towards a market-based system. And there has been movement, but it’s not as fast as we want. And what I’ve said to President Hu -- and I firmly believe this -- is not will U.S. businesses be able to export more to China if we have a market-based currency, but it will also be good for China and President Hu’s agenda of expanding domestic demand. Because if the RMB is worth more, that means they can buy more products and services, and that will contribute to China have greater purchasing power and a higher standard of living.

So this is something that can be a win-win. President Hu is concerned understandably about how rapid this transition takes and the disruptions that may occur in its export sector. But I’m confident that it’s the right thing to do, and my hope and expectation is, is that President Hu’s resolve will lead to a fully market-based currency program that will allow more effective trade between our two countries.

Q (As translated.) Because of the on-and-off interpretation from the simultaneous booths, I would like to ask the Chinese consecutive interpreter to interpret my two questions correctly and accurately. (Laughter.)

My first question for President Obama: Many people do believe that the biggest problem in this relationship is the lack of strategic mutual trust. Do you agree with this view? And how do you think that the two sides should enhance their strategic mutual trust? And how do you think that the two sides should appropriately manage their differences and expand their common interests?

My second question is for President Hu Jintao. We’ve noted that both the Chinese and American leaders have on various occasions stressed the fact that the influence and significance of the China-U.S. relationship have gone far beyond the bilateral dimension. China and the United States share broad common interests and shoulder important common responsibilities in addressing a variety of regional and the global issues. So my question is, how do you think that the China and the United States can step up their cooperation in a joint endeavor to tackle the increasing number of global issues?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Certainly, the more that we can build a baseline of trust -- as you called it, “strategic mutual trust” -- the more likely we are able to solve the friction or irritants that exist in a relationship between any two countries in a more constructive way -- which is why I think it’s so important that not only governments but people in both countries understand the challenges that each country faces and not view every issue through the lens of rivalry.

For example, I know that in China, many believe that somehow the United States is interested in containing China’s rise. As I indicated in the answer that I gave a previous questioner, we welcome China’s rise. We just want to make sure that that rise is done -- that that rise occurs in a way that reinforces international norms and international rules, and enhances security and peace, as opposed to it being a source of conflict either in the region or around the world.

And these security and economic dialogues that we’ve established are precisely designed to lessen suspicions, to enhance mutual understanding. The more we understand each other’s challenges, the more we can take advantage of opportunities.

PRESIDENT HU: (As translated.) As the journalist who raised that question said, in today’s world mankind faces more and more global challenges. And I would like to stress here that no country can remain unscathed in the face of so many global challenges. And no country can single-handedly tackle global challenges.

For example, in the field of fighting terrorism, upholding the security of humanity, or in tackling the international financial crisis, promoting the growth of the world economy in addressing regional hotspots, fighting transnational crimes, fighting piracy, and preventing and treating communicable diseases -- in all these areas, countries need to work together to meet the challenge.

China is the biggest developing country, and the United States the biggest developed country. In this context, it is ultimately necessary for China and the United States to strengthen their cooperation to meet such challenges.

How can China and the U.S. do a better job in working together to meet global challenges? I think there are three points I would like to make, and these three points deserve our serious attention and consideration.

Number one, our two sides have acted in the spirit of cooperation as if we were in the same boat and we should row in the same direction when we tackled previous international challenges, and I think we need to keep up the spirit in future as we tackle challenges.

Number two, we need to increase our communication and coordination. And number three, we need to respect and accommodate each other’s interests and concerns. I’m convinced that as long as our two sides continue to act in this spirit, and as long as we continue to work together with other countries concerned, we will be able to engage in cooperation in an even broader range of areas to the benefit of world peace and development.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: All right, everybody. Thank you so much for your patience, due to the technical difficulties.

President Hu, once again, we appreciate your visit. We appreciate the dialogue. And we are looking forward to having dinner with you later this evening.

Thank you, everybody.

source;The Hindu