Chinese President Xi On A State Visit To India

China's President Xi Jinping, center, holds an umbrella as he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi watch folk artists perform in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Reuters

China's President Arrives in India as Troops Face Off at Border -- Wall Street Journal

Xi, Modi Sign Multibillion-Dollar Deal for Industrial Park in Gujarat

NEW DELHI—Indian and Chinese security forces were locked in a confrontation on their countries' disputed border Wednesday as China's president arrived in India on a trip aimed at boosting economic ties between the two Asian giants.

In the Himalayan region of Ladakh, Indian troops faced off against Chinese soldiers who last week began building a road in an area that India regards as its territory, an Indian official said.

Friction along the two nations' 2,200-mile-long border, much of which is undefined and contested, has mounted in recent years, India says. And it poses a serious hurdle to improving relations between Delhi and Beijing.

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More News And Commentary On Chinese President Xi's State Visit To India

PM Modi welcomes Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad; India, China sign 3 pacts -- Times of India
India-China border standoff highlights tensions before Xi visit -- The Guardian
Border rows, railways likely topics of China-India talks -- Reuters
Xi sees factory China and back office India as global engine -- Reuters
Indian Leader Upbeat Before Chinese President’s Visit -- VOA
With eye on China, India to develop disputed border region -- Reuters
Much at Stake as Xi Jinping, Chinese Leader, Visits India -- NYT
What’s at Stake in Xi Jinping’s Visit to India -- Rishi Iyengar, Time
What China and India need to fix -- The Economist
China's Mixed Messages To India -- Alyssa Ayres, Forbes
Made in China and India: Can Xi and Modi merge world's 'factory' and 'back office'? -- Ravi Agrawal, CNN
China's Xi arrives in India. Can Asia's giants put their differences aside? -- Peter Ford, CSM

India Turns Down China's Request To Enter Its Waters To Search For Malaysia Airlines MH370 Debris

The Chinese missile frigate Mianyang is involved in China's search mission for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370. [Photo: China News Service]

Malaysia Airlines MH370 Debris Hunt: India Turns Down China's Request To Enter Its Waters To Prevent 'Sniffing Around' -- IBTimes

As international efforts are under way to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, India has turned down China's request to enter India's territorial waters to search for the aircraft.

New Delhi has said it does not want the Chinese warships to be "sniffing around" Indian maritime territories under the pretext of searching for the jetliner's wreckage.

The request made by Beijing to allow four of its warships, including two frigates and a salvage vessel, near the Andaman and Nicobar chain of islands, was "politely turned down" by New Delhi, reports the Times of India.

The archipelago has more than 500 tiny islands and shelters India's strategic military installations.

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Update #1: China sends ships to search sea west of Australia -- Daily Mail/AP
Update #2: Chinese Search Vessels in Indian Ocean -- CRI English

My Comment:  Wow .... I know that India does not trust China .... but it is certainly revealed in this situation.

Are India And China Trying To Play 'Nice'?

India, China To Hold Air Force & Navy Exercises -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

Amid more frequent military drills in the region, China and India have agreed to hold exercises between their air forces and navies for the first time.

According to Indian media outlets, India and China’s navies and air forces will hold joint exercises in the near future, although the specific date of the drills will be decided by military officials at a later date.

The exercises will be “elementary” in nature at first, with the expectation that larger drills would follow.

The drills would be the first between the navies and air forces of China and India. Starting in 2007, their armies began holding drills, the third edition of which has been scheduled for October in Chengdu in southwestern China.

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My Comment: It is going to tale more than a few military exercises for both countries to overcome their deep border/diplomatic/political differences.

Chinese General Issues Warning To India Over Their Disputed Border

People’s Liberation Army Major General Luo Yuan. Reuters

Don’t Provoke Us With New Trouble: Chinese General Warns India -- First Post

Beijing: Ahead of Defence Minister AK Antony’s arrival in Beijing for high-level talks, a hawkish Chinese General today warned India against provoking “new trouble” by increasing its military deployment at the border.

“There is no denying that there are tensions and problems between China and India particularly at the border areas,” Major General Luo Yuan, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of China Strategy Culture Promotion Association, said.

“There is still problem of 90,000 sq km of territory still occupied by the Indian side. These are the problems left over from history and we should look at it with cool head,” General Luo said while talking to foreign correspondents in Beijing.

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More News On Chinese Warnings To India Over Their Border Disputes

Chinese general warns India against 'new trouble' -- FOX News/AFP
India's defense minister leaves on 4-day China visit -- Global Post/Kyodo News
China Welcomes Indian Defense Minister With Warning: 'Don’t Provoke Us With New Trouble' -- Headlines and Global News
Indian media: Chinese general's warning against border deployment -- BBC
China plays down general's warning to India -- Zee News
Chinese general warns India even as Antony visits Beijing: Urinalysis -- Reuters
Antony’s visit: Why the Chinese general’s warning matters -- First Post

Why India Should be Concern About China's Growing Military

China intends to be a predominant military power in the region and will not hesitate to use its armed forces to protect its development interests. Image: Joe Chan / Reuters

Why China's Growing Military Should Concern India -- Anirudha Dutta, Forbes

India has several reasons to be wary of, and counter, China’s military build-up

China’s latest white paper on defence, a once-in-two-year exercise, was issued on April 16. It clearly underscores the importance of the People’s Liberation Army and its pivotal role in the economic development and growth of China. Its military rise is of concern for India, given its proximity to Pakistan, from where India has faced continuous threats of terrorism and military misadventures. The strategic relationship with Pakistan is evident from the number of joint exercises and training carried out in 2011-12 and economic investments.

The white paper emphasises China’s peaceful rise and its intent to “never seek hegemony... But we will surely counterattack if attacked”. China now sees itself as a world power that has arrived and it will likely intrude, even if it is not attacked, based on perceived threat or slight. The report says, “China’s security and development are closely connected with the peace and prosperity of the world as a whole.” This seems at times to be at odds with its sense of insecurity and the challenges that the report highlights in order to justify its massive military build-up.

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My Comment: The Chinese are making their intentions very clear .... and India is only now starting to pay attention.

Chinese Premier: India And China Must Resolve Border Row For 'World Peace'

India And China Bid To Resolve Border Row For 'World Peace' -- The Telegraph

India and China have agreed to speed efforts to settle their simmering border dispute after Li Keqiang, the Chinese premier, said "world peace" depends on it.

In his first foreign trip since taking power in March, Mr Li's visit to New Delhi reflects the growing strategic rivalry between the two main Asian powers but also their need for increased bi-lateral trade. His talks with Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh today focussed on how the two countries can prevent the former being an obstacle to the latter.

The visit came close to being cancelled earlier this month after Chinese troops pitched tents on what India regards as its territory in Ladakh on their Himalayan border and unfurled banners warning Indian troops "You have crossed the border, please go back."

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My Comment: China is involved in border disputes with all of it's neighbors .... I am not optimistic that the Chinese are going to give anything away in these talks .... if anything .... they will probably be asking for more.

India And China Face-Off In The Indian Ocean

Map locates the major Indian Ocean oil trade routes and newly developed ports built by China. ESRI / AP

After Fighting Over Mountains, India and China Lock Horns In The Indian Ocean -- Ishaan Tharoor, Time

In mid-April, a platoon of Chinese soldiers trooped some 20 km into territory considered India’s and pitched tents and unfurled banners. When detected by Indian forces, the Chinese refused to leave, triggering a tense three-week standoff between the two Asian giants that ended only after both sides backed down from their windswept Himalayan posts and returned to the pre-existing status quo. The incident was the most dramatic flare-up between India and China in recent years, the latest reminder of how things can hot up along a vast, snowbound border that has for decades remained in dispute.

Top officials in both New Delhi and Beijing tried to play down what happened. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid described the border tensions as “acne” on the otherwise “beautiful face” of Sino-Indian relations. On a recent trip to Beijing, Khurshid insisted both countries “were on the same page” and “don’t have prickly issues of significant difference” regarding the unsettled border. Ahead of newly installed Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s May 19 visit to India — his maiden foreign mission — the two countries have made conciliatory noises over resolving the thorny issue of the border, even though over a dozen rounds of talks have failed to achieve any real progress. In a measure to build trust, the two countries laid plans during the standoff to hold joint military exercises for the first time in five years.

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My Comment: This India - China rivalry in the Indian Ocean goes back years.

Has China Just Invaded India?

The Economist

China Invades India: Tensions Mount As Platoon Of Soldiers Slip Across Border To Claim Disputed Territory -- Daily Mail

* Chinese troops set up camp in Ladakh region in middle of April, it's claimed
* Slipped across the boundary into India in middle of night, India says

A two week Chinese incursion has left India on the verge of crises, it has today been reported.

India says Chinese troops set up a camp on its side of the ill-defined frontier in Ladakh region in the middle of April.

The platoon of Chinese soldiers slipped across the boundary into India in the middle of the night, according to Indian officials.

They were ferried across the bitterly cold moonscape in Chinese army vehicles, then got out to traverse a dry creek bed with a helicopter hovering overhead for protection.

They finally reached their destination and pitched a tent in the barren Depsang Valley in the Ladakh region, a symbolic claim of sovereignty deep inside Indian-held territory.

So stealthy was the operation that India did not discover the incursion until a day later, Indian officials said.

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More News On Border Tensions Between China And India

India, China remain at odds over alleged border incursion -- Washington Post
China won't budge from Indian territory; starts supply convoys -- Domain-B
Chinese army intensifies presence in Ladakh, gets regular supplies -- Hindustan Times
India-China standoff: Indian Army suggests increasing troops on LAC -- Kashmir Watch
Indian Army takes a step back in Ladakh -- Hindustan Times
Indian Army can cut Chinese Supply lines: Army Chief Bikram Singh -- Daily Bhashkar
Indian govt under pressure to escalate China standoff -- DAWN
Where China Meets India in a High-Altitude Desert, Push Comes to Shove -- New York Times
Chinese incursion violates 2005 pact -- Times of India
Chinese are not going to vacate Ladakh anytime soon, strategic experts feel -- Times of India
Old Tensions, Big Stakes in China-India Border Dispute -- Economic Observer
China’s Ladakh incursion is war minus the shooting -- Venky Vembu, First Post
Are China and India About to Fight Over Their Border? -- Jake Maxwell Watts, The Atlantic

China - India Border Tensions Continue

Chinese Troops Have Erected Tents 19km Inside Indian Territory: Govt -- Times Of India

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday told a parliamentary committee that Chinese troops have pitched tents 19km deep inside the Indian territory in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and that efforts are underway to ensure that the status quo is maintained.

Defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and some other senior officials informed the parliamentary standing committee on defence that India has deployed forces to "keep a close watch on the border", sources told .

Sharma and other officials appeared before the committee after BJP members Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Prakash Javadekar wanted to know the actual ground situation in Depsang sector of Ladakh where the Chinese incursion took place in Daulat Beg Oldie area a week ago.

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More News On China's And India's Border Tensions

China incursion: What exactly happened? -- Hindustan Times
India's defense minister says talks are on to end standoff with China over de facto border -- FOX News/AP
Parliament panel urged to seek details on incursion from Defence Ministry, Army -- The Hindu
China plays down border row with India -- Indian Express
China denies crossing LAC in Ladakh; promises to resolve stand-off amicably -- Times of India
Indian Foreign Minister to Visit China to Reduce Border Tensions -- Bloomberg Businessweek
India foreign minister Salman Khurshid to visit China -- BBC
India turns to diplomacy to counter China as reports of incursions in Ladakh continue -- Daily Mail
China's border games part of larger diplomatic strategy? -- Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Hindustan Times
China’s LAC push aims to make India sign pact? -- Times of India
Border row puts gains in Sino-Indian ties at risk -- Ben Doherty, Sydney Morning Herald

India - China Border Tensions Escalates With Chinese Incursion

India Asks China To Withdraw Border Troops -- Al Jazeera

Foreign ministry asks China to pull back troops who allegedly advanced into disputed territory claimed by India.

India has accused Chinese soldiers of launching an incursion far into Indian territory, the latest flare-up of tension between the two Asian giants over their de facto boundary in the Himalayas.

"Chinese troops entered 10km into Indian territory on April 15 and pitched tents in the Depsang valley in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir," an Indian official said on Tuesday.

Indian army commanders have met at least two times with their Chinese counterparts, but Chinese troops remain in Indian-claimed territory, said Tsering Angchuk, a civil administrator in Ladakh. "They have not vacated the position so far,'' he said.

India's foreign ministry said it had asked China to withdraw troops from the territory.

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More News On Growing India - China Border Tensions

India, China Hold Military Talks After New Delhi Alleges Chinese Incursion Into Indian Territory -- International Business Times
Indian, Chinese Armies Hold Meeting to Resolve Border Dispute -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Chinese incursion in Ladakh: India, China armies meet to resolve row -- First Post
India Optimistic Talks Will China Solve Border Dispute -- Voice of America
China denies Ladakh incursion, says media speculated -- Hindustan Times
China denies Ladakh incursion, accuses India of 'aggressive patrolling' -- NDTV
India asks China to pull back troops in Ladakh -- BBC
India Accuses China of Crossing De Facto Border -- ABC News/AP
India asks China to revert to status quo in Ladakh -- Times of India
China violated Indian airspace, flew its military choppers over Depsang in Ladakh: Sources -- IBN Live
Chinese incursion: India likely to send Army contingent to Daulat Beg Oldi sector -- Times of India

Arms Race Between China And India

Arms Race On The Roof Of The World -- The National/Reuters

TAWANG, INDIA // It has all the appearance of an arms race on the roof of the world.

Asia's two great powers are facing off here in the eastern Himalayan mountains. China has vastly improved roads and is building or extending airports on its side of the border in Tibet. It has placed nuclear-capable intermediate missiles in the area and deployed around 300,000 troops across the Tibetan plateau, according to a 2010 Pentagon report.

India is in the midst of a 10-year plan to scale up its side. In the state of Arunachal Pradesh, new infantry patrols started on the frontier in May, as part of a surge to add some 60,000 men to the 120,000 already in the region. It has stationed two Sukhoi 30 fighter squadrons and will deploy the Brahmos cruise missile.

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My Comment: China has border disputes with all of it's neighbors. But unlike countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, etc.. .... India has the people and the resources to be the long term strategic threat to China's ambitions of being Asia's superpower. I expect this arms race to continue, and tensions on their border to escalate.

A Review On The Tensions Between China And India

China And India Today: Diplomats Jostle, Militaries Prepare -- Mohan Malik, World Affairs

Just as the Indian subcontinental plate has a tendency to constantly rub and push against the Eurasian tectonic plate, causing friction and volatility in the entire Himalayan mountain range, India’s bilateral relationship with China is also a subtle, unseen, but ongoing and deeply felt collision, the affects of which have left a convoluted lineage. Tensions between the two powers have come to influence everything from their military and security decisionmaking to their economic and diplomatic maneuvering, with implications for wary neighbors and faraway allies alike. The relationship is complicated by layers of rivalry, mistrust, and occasional cooperation, not to mention actual geographical disputes.

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My Comment: An excellent review on the tensions between India and China.

China Is Winning The Arms Race Against India

In Himalayan Arms Race, China One-Ups India -- Aviation Week

It has all the appearance of an arms race on the roof of the world.

Asia’s two great powers are facing off here in the eastern Himalayan mountains. China has vastly improved roads and is building or extending airports on its side of the border in Tibet. It has placed nuclear-capable intermediate missiles in the area and deployed around 300,000 troops across the Tibetan plateau, according to a 2010 Pentagon report.

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My Comment: After what happened today .... it is not hard to understand why India is falling behind China.

Analtsis: The India-China Rivalry

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The India-China Rivalry -- Robert D. Kaplan, Stratfor

As the world moves into the second decade of the 21st century, a new power rivalry is taking shape between India and China, Asia's two behemoths in terms of territory, population and richness of civilization. India's recent successful launch of a long-range missile able to hit Beijing and Shanghai with nuclear weapons is the latest sign of this development.

This is a rivalry born completely of high-tech geopolitics, creating a core dichotomy between two powers whose own geographical expansion patterns throughout history have rarely overlapped or interacted with each other. Despite the limited war fought between the two countries on their Himalayan border 50 years ago, this competition has relatively little long-standing historical or ethnic animosity behind it.

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My Comment: A comprehensive analysis from Robert Kaplan. Read it all.

China Responds To India's Missile Test

China Says India Is A 'Partner, Not Rival' After Missile Launch -- CNN

Beijing (CNN) -- China downplayed India's successful missile launch this week, saying that the two sides are not rivals but cooperating partners.

"China and India are both emerging countries, we are not rivals but cooperation partners," said Liu Weimin, China's foreign ministry spokesman, on Thursday. "We believe the two countries should cherish the hard-won momentum of sound bilateral relations, promote bilateral friendship and cooperation and make active contributions to regional peace and stability."

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My Comment: If you believe this .... I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

Chinese Military Drill Near The Border Of India Sends A Clear Message

China 'Warns' India With Border Drill -- Economic Times

NEW DELHI\BEIJING: China is back to flexing its muscles close to the Indian border. The People's Liberation Army has conducted a major "live fire" exercise, testing its multi-role J-10 fighters armed with laser-guided and other bombs, in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Chinese official media on Thursday described the exercise as "the first operation of its kind" on the 3,500-metre high plateau, which saw the fighter jets being fuelled and loaded with bombs for ground attack missions during sub-zero temperatures.

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My Comment: China is flexing it's muscle .... directed at India and at Tibetans.

Analysis And Implication’s For India’s Security As China's Military Expands

China’s Defence Budget 2012: Implication’s For India’s Security – Analysis -- Dr Subhash Kapila, Eurasia Review

‘However, its less the size of China’s defense budget than its composition that alarms beyond its borders. China’s military spending privileges the navy, air force and strategic nuclear forces—instruments of advanced power projection—rather than traditional defensive capabilities. No Chinese leader has yet explained how these capabilities contribute to China’s peaceful rise”. — Daniel Twining, Washington, USA.

China’s Defence Budget 2012 announced in the first week of March 2012 significantly draws global and regional attention in that China has shot through its defence expenditure over the $ 100 billion mark, making China’s military expenditure at the global level, second only to that of the United States, even though there exists a wide differential between the two.

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My Comment: The Chinese have made it very clear that in the short term their goal is to be Asia's regional super power .... and in the long term .... to be a global super power. India is .... belatedly .... now recognizing this development.

Can China And India Find Peace Between Each Other?

Why China, India Clash -- Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, The Diplomat

India-China relations are often seen through the prism of their bilateral disputes. Indeed, the border dispute between the two is generally seen as the biggest hurdle to improving ties. But it could be argued that disagreements such as that over the border in Arunachal Pradesh are only a symptom of the larger problem that exists between these two Asian giants, namely the inevitable and increasing competition between two rising powers.

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My Comment: Everyone is talking about peaceful coexistence .... but on the ground .... Asian defense spending is accelerating with budgets that are now surpassing even the Europeans. To put it bluntly .... most countries do not trust China, and China .... well .... I sometimes wonder if they even come close to trusting anyone else.

India And China Search For Common Ground

India, China And The Pirates -- Nitin Gokhale, The Diplomat

An agreement between China, India and Japan to coordinate over combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden is an encouraging sign of military cooperation. But it’s no panacea.

Relations between India and China look increasingly to be running along two parallel tracks – one of cooperation, the other competition.

While New Delhi and Beijing keep a wary eye on each other’s activities along the border, there’s growing engagement at the highest political and diplomatic levels. For example, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna made a three-day visit to China last month, meeting key Chinese leaders ahead of the BRICS summit to be hosted by India in April. As The Hindu newspaper reported at the time, “China appears to have laid out the red carpet for Mr. Krishna, arranging four high-level meetings for the minister in one day – a rare occurrence, according to diplomats.”

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My Comment: We should not be surprised to see these examples of cooperation. Even during the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, there were many instances where both sides cooperated for the better good.

New Tensions On The Chinese - Indian Border

New Tensions In India-China Border Dispute Raise Concerns -- Washington Post

NEW DELHI — It was supposed to be a “golden period” in relations between India and China, but it is looking seriously tarnished.

Early this year, China’s top diplomat, Dai Bingguo, arrived in New Delhi for a 15th round of talks between the nuclear-armed neighbors over their long — and long-disputed — border, proclaiming that they shared a historic opportunity to forge a brighter future “hand in hand.”

But already India and China are squabbling again, and their frontier is the flash point.

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My Comment: So much for that era of peace and stability between the two countries. I expect the following to happen .... from India .... from China.