The UPA government appears to have no will to craft a purposeful policy towards China
Although Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor makes light of his decision to shift nearly 6,000 troops to the trijunction of the India-Bhutan-China border, the disconcerting truth has been known for some time — that there is a new military restiveness on the Sino-Indian border. After relative peace for nearly two decades, Beijing’s more muscular policies on the frontier and the reluctance of the Indian political leadership to face up to the implications of China’s rapid rise as a great power are creating conditions for renewed mistrust. For nearly a decade now, China has purposefully upgraded its military and civilian infrastructure in Xinjiang and Tibet, the two provinces that border India. China is also extending its political and military influence south of the Himalayas by pushing new road and rail networks. The People’s Liberation Army’s vigorous patrol along the contested border has been matched by a vociferous diplomatic reaffirmation of China’s claim to the entire Arunachal Pradesh.
The UPA government appears to have no will to craft a purposeful policy towards China. Defence Minister A.K. Antony seems to think his job is to make politically correct statements on China and Russia. Antony is well advised to leave that job to the Foreign Office and devise a longer-term response to the complete transformation of China’s strategic profile on South Asia’s borders. The China policy has traditionally been managed at the highest levels in the Indian government. But the UPA leadership — under political bondage to the communists, who make no bones about their loyalty to China — is busy simulating a bonhomie with Beijing.
In contrast to this, the Vajpayee government had the gumption to confront China on the nuclear issue, flexibility to settle the dispute over Sikkim, and courage to initiate a bold negotiation on the boundary dispute. The UPA neither has the stomach to challenge China’s open campaign against the Indo-US nuclear deal nor the head to ramp up pressure on Beijing for an early and reasonable settlement of the boundary dispute. If the Congress party confuses China policy with coalition politics at home, the security institutions like the Armed Forces have no choice but to come up with separate responses of their own.
