War and Conflict Journal
China and India: Enemies Again?
China and India: Enemies Again?
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal points out an uncomfortable truth: Namely that the world’s two most populous nations, China and India, still really do not like nor trust each other very much. And, to add some spice to this long-standing rivalry, one needs to only remember that these two Asian giants share a very long border, but that they are both nuclear powers.
As stated in the WSJ:
On June 8, New Delhi announced it would deploy two additional army divisions and two air force squadrons near its border with China. Beijing responded furiously to the Indian announcement, hardening its claim to some 90,000 square kilometers of Indian territory that China disputes.
China and India fought a nasty border war back in 1962, over disputed land along the border, and they never really settled the issue satisfactorily. The WSJ points out that in recent years, China has worked hard to put in many roads and other infrastructure that could facilitate troop and weapon movement in the event of a new conflict. India has not done similar work on its side of the border.
In recent years however China has been raising the temperature at the border. Chinese claims to Arunachal Pradesh and frequent Chinese “incursions” into the nearby Indian state of Sikkim have begun to multiply in line with Beijing’s rising economic and political influence. Moreover, unlike India, China has methodically developed its infrastructure along the disputed border, littering the barren terrain with highways and railways capable of moving large numbers of goods and troops.
For its part, New Delhi has become both increasingly aware of its disadvantage and exceedingly suspicious of China’s intentions. India’s June 8 announcement that it will deploy two additional army mountain divisions to the northeastern state of Assam will bring India’s troop levels in the region to more than 100,000. The Indian Air Force, meanwhile, announced it will station two squadrons of advanced Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft in Tezpur, also in Assam. They will be complemented by three Airborne Warning and Control Systems and the addition or upgrade of airstrips and advanced landing stations.
The article also points out that China has invested in projects in nations throughout South Asia, including in nations with ongoing or recent issues with India, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
China has been spending a lot of financial and political capital to extend its influence around Asia, and also into Africa and Latin America. China’s military is quickly improving and modernizing by leaps and bounds. India is bordered by nations who do not like India, and China is making friends with India’s other enemies, such as Myanmar/Burma. India had best watch out, and the American government needs to work hard to keep China from flexing its muscles at the expense of democratic India.
See also:
http://www.historyguy.com/india-bangladesh_2001.htm
http://www.historyguy.com/kargil_war.html
http://www.historyguy.com/indo_pakistani-wars.html
http://www.historyguy.com/kashmir_links.html
U.S.-China Naval Incidents-Updated June 12, 2009
In March of 2009, several incidents took place between
the military forces of the United States and the military
forces of the People’s Republic of China at sea. Below is a
listing of these naval and air incidents.
In June, 2009, an Chinese submarine collided with a sonar
array towed by a U.S. destroyer near the Philippines
June 12, 2009–A Chinese submarine hit an
underwater sonar array being towed by the destroyer USS
John McCain on June 11, 2009. The sonar array received
damage, but the Chinese submarine and the American
destroyer did not collide. This incident occurred near
Subic Bay, Philippines.
March 8, 2009–Five Chinese vessels harassed
and obstructed the USNS Impeccable in the South China
Sea, 70 mile from the coast of the Chineses island of
Hainan. The Chinese ships surrounded the Impeccable and
two of the ships closed to within 50 feet of the American
ship. The Chinese ships included a Chinese navy
intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime
Fisheries patrol vessel, a State Oceanographic
Administration patrol vessel and two small
Chinese-flagged trawlers.
Crewmen aboard the Impeccable used fire hoses to spray
one of the harassiing Chinese ships as a protective
measure. The Chinese crewmembers stripped to their
underwear and continued manning their posts, closing to
within 25 feet of the Americans.
The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood into the water
directly in the Impeccable’s path, and two of the
ships halted directly in the U.S. vessel’s path,
forcing it to stop.
Chinese sailors used poles, attempting to snag the
Impeccable’s towed acoustic array sonars. Impeccable
used bridge-to-bridge radio contact to inform the Chinese
ships that it was leaving the area and requested a safe
path to navigate.
China accused the U.S. Navy of conducting illegal
surveying off southern Hainan island.
March 7, 2009–A Chinese naval vessel
challenged the USNS Impeccable via bridge-to-bridge
radio, accusing the Impeccable of conducting illegal
operations and told the American ship to leave the area
or “suffer the consequences.”
March 5, 2009–Chinese maritime aircraft
“buzzed” the USNS Impeccable 12 times. This
came after an incident earlier in the day.
March 5, 2009 –A Chinese frigate crossed the
bow of the USNS Impeccable at a range of about 100
yards
March 4, 2009–A Chinese patrol vessel shined a
high-intensity spotlight on the USNS Victorious, while it
was operating in the Yellow Sea some 125 miles from the
Chinese coast.
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Links:
Sources and
U.S.-China Naval Incidents in March, 2009
In March of 2009, several incidents took place between
the military forces of the United States and the military
forces of the People’s Republic of China at sea. Below is a
listing of these naval and air incidents… READ THE REST AT HISTORYGUY.COM
March 8, 2009–Five Chinese vessels
harassed and obstructed the USNS Impeccable in the South
China Sea, 70 mile from the coast of the Chineses island
of Hainan. The Chinese ships surrounded the Impeccable
and two of the ships closed to within 50 feet of the
American ship. The Chinese ships included a Chinese navy
intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime
Fisheries patrol vessel, a State Oceanographic
Administration patrol vessel and two small
Chinese-flagged trawlers.Crewmen aboard the Impeccable used fire hoses to spray
one of the harassiing Chinese ships as a protective
measure. The Chinese crewmembers stripped to their
underwear and continued manning their posts, closing to
within 25 feet of the Americans.The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood into the water
directly in the Impeccable’s path, and two of the
ships halted directly in the U.S. vessel’s path,
forcing it to stop.
Communist Occupation of Tibet Compared to Nazi, Soviet Era Repressions
With the recent publicity surrounding the ongoing repression in Tibet by the Chinese Communist Party, and the public protests around the world as the Olympic torch makes its way to Beijing, I have received several queries from readers about the history of conflicts between Tibet and China.
There is a new web page on the historyguy.com site detailing some of these Sino-Tibetan Wars and Conflicts. It is at: http://www.historyguy.com/tibet_china_wars_conflicts.html
While normally I take as neutral a position as possible while explaining world conflicts on the main historyguy.com website, and leaving my more opinionated commentary for this blog, I come down against the continued repression by the Chinese Communist Party in Tibet. I see a distinction in identifying the brutality and evil of the occupation as sourced in the Communist ideology than in any innately Chinese cultural aspects. When an authoritarian, dictatorial regime conquers a smaller, basically defenseless nation, it can never be justified. I liken the Chinese occupation of Tibet with the other evil occupations of history, such as the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, or the Soviet conquest of the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia).
Those once-captive nations eventually regained their freedom, and one day too, Tibet may once again see the back-end of the Communist occupying forces, just as, after the 1911 Revolution, Tibet saw the last of the Manchu Imperial occupation army.
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