Soaring dragon, Dancing elephant

Sino-India relations have hit a new high....Following Sonia Gandhi's much hyped Beijing visit some time back, P.M Manmohan Singh's Beijing Yatra seems to be bearing fruit as well...If all goes as planned, the border issues betweebn the 2 countires shall stand resolved in the near future....

But is this proceeding the same way as we would like it...Accept it or not, China today is much more powerful than it is assumed to be...It is capable of mobilising forces in the north east sector in a matter of a week....The rail road to Lhasa has given it a stratgic advantage that it sure would exploit....Contrast this with our precarious situation in the North east, where even 60 years post-independence, We do not have a rail-link to any N-E state other than Assam!!!

India swallowed a bitter pill following the 1962 war, but apparently the taste has been forgotten....China's strategic advantage in the region poses a huge security challenge to India's integrity...and this issue is still being taken lightly..

Tibet is another cause of concern..Effectively India recognized PRC's control over Tibet, in lieu of China's recognition of Sikkim as an Indian state...Tibet is no ordinary territory, it is of historical imporatnce to India, for it acts as a buffer between China & India...With Nepal certain to go red sooner rather than later, of course democratically(presumed!!!)...China's influence in that nation would counter Indian interests.....

Next in line is Myanmar....China has been steadily helping the burmese in upgrading their ports and establishing road & rail links....The Burmese junta is believed to be sympathetic to the Chinese...This is another cause of concern!

The picture is very grim..Pakistan continues to be in China's pocket....India hads effectively been surrounded on all sides byu China....And all we are doing is following a policy of 'Wait n watch'....

We need to wake up sooner rather than later...The threat of the dragon is too huge and obvious to be missed now....