Author: M V Kamath
Publication: Free Press
Journal
Date: November 16, 2000
Can India and China ever
really be friends? Or are they bound to live in years to come, in mutual
distrust? That question was on the anvil when leading officials both from
China and India met for a frank face-to-face discussion on the issues confronting
them at a get-together held under auspices of the Manipal Academy of Higher
Education (MAHE) at Manipal last week.
Both the Indians and
the Chinese put forth their views with candour holding nothing back.
It turned out practically to be a free-for-all. The Indian side did
not hide either its fears or distrust of Chinese intentions whatever they
be. It was pointed out that India is pitted against two closely aligned
nuclear neighbours, China and Pakistan, that this "joint strategic venture"
between the two has put India in an "extremely hostile two-front security
environment", that while India views China as a medium and long-range security
challenge, Chinese "Principal reference point" is to emerge as a super
power, that China is playing the game of pitching Pakistan against India
as a "far more cost-effective" mode than directly confronting it and that
"there is a natural synergy between Chinese aim to tie down a definite
rival in Asia, and Pakistani objective to balkanize India." The point was
well made by Bharat Verma, editor of Indian Defence Review when he said:
"China reaps twin advantages with this approach. First, it allowed
China to pretend that it is not hostile. This permits China to act
as a trouble-maker unhindered and, at the same time, a trouble-shooter
enhancing its role in Asia. Second, it ties down India effectively
within the sub-continental strait-jacket which avoids presenting India
as a possibe rival. Additionally, said Verma, Chinese then condescendingly
can talk about the need to avert nuclear and missile race in the sub-continent,
conveniently overlooking their own ever increasing arsenal." In criticism
of China, Col. Gurmeet Singh Kanwal of the Indian Army went further.
He noted how China has provided Pakistan with technical assistance in the
joint development of MBT-2000 (Al Khaled), supplied the Pakistani Armed
Forces with T-59, T-69, T/85 tanks, heavy artillery guns anti-aircraft
gun systems, anti-tank missiles, fully-assembled M-9 and M-11 missiles,
suggesting that China's deeds are "clearly aimed at the strategic encirclement
of India to marginalise India in Asia and tie it down to the Indian sub-continent."
China, he said, "has sought to gain strategic advantage over India by progressively
making India's neighbours dependent on China to a large extent for their
defence supplies." There were other charges made against China, namely
that it has been escalating its involvement with Myanmar "substantially",
that while China's direct support to counter-insurgency movements in India's
north eastern states and in Jammu and Kashmir appears to have dwindled,
it is nevertheless seeking to keep India strategically 'engaged' through
its neighbours and that "the large-scale supply of cheap small arms like
rifles, hand grenades, rocket launchers, pistols, ammunition and even SAM-7
missiles to regimes inimical to India is an ingenious method of indirect
involvement in destabilising India without having to share the blame for
doing so." It was also pointed out that the expansion of Chinese influence
in Myanmar, the establishment of a Chines electronic listening pot in the
CoCo Islands off Myanmar's coast and the northern tip of the North Andaman
Island are of concern to India. China's refusal to settle the border
dispute was deliberate, it was further said, the argument being that it
paid China to do so as it gave it time to gather more strength and then
dictate terms to India. As Colonel Gurmeet Singh Kanwal put it bluntly,
"China may choose to settle the territorial dispute with India at a time
of its own choosing when it is militarily far more powerful", and get what
it wants either through coercive diplomacy or militarily strength.
Some others made the point that China was directly or indirectly helping
to sabotage India's small-scale industries through pushing certain items
across Nepal illegally. And, of course, China's assistance to Pakistan
in the nuclear field was also stressed.
The Chinese sought to
make conciliatory noises. Thus, one delegate pointed out that the
1962 war "was just an unhappy episode in the long history of friendly relations
between the two countries" and that "it should not exist such a long time
in the memory of our two peoples". The Chinese delegates said India
should abandon "Cold War mentalities" considering that "the kind of security
perception that pursues security through military confrontation or through
military alliances has been out of date since the end of the Cold War".
As one Chinese delegate put it: "Cold War mentalities must be thrown away
in order to put Sino-Indian relationship on a smooth track." "We must first
avoid thinking that the other side's strengthening of comprehensive power
is a threat." The Chinese insisted that India should not see any threat
in China developing its strength, that such development is in no way a
threat to India and that "the way of thinking other country's good relations
with neighbouring countries as an attempt to isolate or encircle certain
countries must be avoided". That was an indirect reference to India's
fears that China was trying to 'encircle' India by making friends with
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar". As one Chinese delegate
aggressively put it: "It is inconceivable that China would abandon the
chance to develop its relations with its other neighbouring countries just
because of reluctant development of Sino-Indian relations. It is
another reflection of the Cold War mentalities to see close relations of
China and Pakistan and Myanmar as an attempt to isolate or encircle India".
The delegate also sent a very subtle warning to India not to attempt into
alliances "to contain the other side" (namely, China) and advised Delhi
to abandon such thoughts. As he put: "It is impossible for the two
countries to contain the other side successfully. The practice of
containment will not bring benefits to any side and will only undermine
basic interests of our two people". The delegate was referring to
some alleged attempts advocated by certain academic circles to establish"
a security system composed of Israel, Japan, Southeast Asian countries
and the US" to confront China. The delegate said: "In the proposed
system, India would be a strategic pillar. The argument is completely
absurd. I wish Indian political and military leaders would be able
to prevent such views from influencing their policy-making."
The delegate, a Major
General in the Chines Army and a professor at China's National Defence
University, said that India and China "can reduce actions of reconnaissance
and military exercises aimed at the other side as a step to reduce tensions,
arguing that while Indian area of strategic depth is near its border, "it
is very difficult for China to increase its forces in border area because
of the distance between border area and its area of strategic depth." The
delegate added that as a further measure to build confidence, "assurance
of not supporting separatist actions aimed at the other side can be made."
As he saw it, in the contemporary world, peace and development have become
the mainstream that efforts are on to strengthen destabilising factors
and therefore" our two governments and people should cooperate closely
with each other to oppose separatist forces under such circumstances".
As a further confidence-building measure the delegate suggested enhancing
military exchanges and promoting mutual understanding and confidence.
The army official, major general Fan Zhen Jiang said: "Our two governments
and people should cooperate closely with each other to oppose separatist
forces.... at least assurances can be made by our two sides not to
support separatist activities against the other. Chinese people appreciate
India's declared position of not allowing anti-China activities by Dalal
clique". Much has to be read in Chinese statements between the lines
since the Chinese delegates did not clearly spell out their attitude towards
Pakistan and towards Beijing's nuclear assistance to Pakistan. Indeed
at no time did the Chinese delegates spell out in clear terms where Beijing
stood in the matter of containing Pakistan terrorism, and in Pakistan building
up a nuclear arsenal with Chinese help and so on. But China showed
its willingness to talk with India and to hold talks at junior military
level. As the army official said: "We can begin with exchanges of
junior officers and gradually expand to senior officers. The issues
of discussion might begin with military doctrines and principles, and gradually
expand to discussions of and solutions to, substantial issues."
What Manipal has done
is to get a dialogue started with remarkable efficiency and great goodwill
between both sides. It is now for the government of both countries
to continue the process begun at MAHE.
