India and China- rising super-powers with growing disparity

India is supposedly the rising super power, the parent nation of the Indian sub-continent. India has always wanted to maintain peace and tranquillity in the region by standing guard to its principle of peace and tolerance.

But few of its neighbours continue to vitiate the friendly atmosphere time and again.

Chinese, in particular, by regularly intruding into the Indian territory keep testing how India responds. Not only they succeed in disturbing the bilateral relations, they also influence the public perception of both states and their ties.

In April, the Indian army found Chinese troops entered 19km deep inside the Indian territory pitching their tents in Depsang plains in Ladakh. They returned after a three-week stand-off and several rounds of hectic parleys between the top officials of the two countries. In the last eight months, there have been over 150 incursions by the Chinese side. Just a few days ago, India landed a C-130J Super Hercules transport plane at an airstrip in Daulat Beg Oldie near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the site of the India-China stand-off in April, in a flexing of muscle before border talks.

The report of first intrusion in Arunachal Pradesh, according to media reports, was discovered at the same time by the Indian Army on August 11 at Plam Plam, a high-altitude, sparsely-populated and very remote area. The second was a few kilometres away on the Hadig La pass, just two days ago.

Reports in the media also said “when the Indian troops chanced upon the Chinese soldiers camped at Plam Plam, they made a tactical retreat to come back with a reinforced patrol. But before they did, the Chinese soldiers told them, through interpreters present in both patrols, that they were building a track to Kapatu, about 20 km into what India considers its territory.”  They also said that they had been coming into the area for the last 12 years, since 2001.

The Indian Army launched a reinforced patrol on August 15, which went back to Plam Plam to find that the Chinese troops had withdrawn. But on August 19, they ran into a different group of Chinese soldiers in Hadig la. This group did not camp on Indian territory and withdrew immediately. As did the Indian troops. 

Whatever the situation may be, the UPA government has failed to send a stern message to its neighbour on repeated border tensions.

Moreover, the Indian government wants to hide its failure from its people. Their credibility is at all time low. But by hiding the fact from the people, they are giving more strength to the Chinese. They know that India is being headed by its weakest government ever. So, they are using it to their advantage.

Also, China is in a better position than India regarding defence and trade. Constantly provided with US weapons, it has no fear of war. In terms of trade too, India suffers a heavy trade imbalance at their hands.  During January-June 2013, India’s exports to china stood at $5.42 billion whereas imports were $24.70 billion.

The Chinese are playing with India’s sovereignty to convey that they are the only superpower of Asia. And that India should not aspire to take that position.