“Inch towards Miles”: Modi Mantra for Sino-Indian Relations Brig Anil Gupta Prime Minister Modi’s acronyms and catch phrases successfully convey what pundits often take reams of paper to do. During his interaction with Chinese media organisations held prior to the visit of Chinese ‘Paramount Leader’ Xi jinping, he announced another one “Inch towards Miles”- “INCH” that is “India-China”; towards “MILES” that is- “Millennium of Exceptional Synergy”. Through this catch-phrase he wished to portray his vision of Sino-Indian relations in the future. Economic cooperation seems to be the focal point of Mr. Modi’s vision. Mr. Xi is also a strong advocate of closer economic cooperation between the two Asian giants. He feels that China can help India improve its infrastructure and manufacturing base and open the Chinese market to Indian pharmaceuticals and IT industries thus closing the gap of trade imbalance between the two nations. China has grown to be the most potent economic power in the world. Its superlative growth and overriding economic strength cannot be ignored by India any longer. China also realises that without Indian cooperation it would not be able to fulfil its ambition of challenging America as the sole super power in the world. The executives of both the nations are forward looking and are firm believers of “lateral” than “linear” thinking and hence the desire to move ahead leaving aside the “irritants.” There is no doubt in the fact that China is a threat to India. While a visionary and statesman would like to convert this “threat” into an “opportunity”; a status quoist leadership would remain bogged down with the “irritants” and miss the golden opportunity of economic revival through mutual cooperation. Mr. Modi is certainly a visionary and a statesman, a quality we have so far been attributing only to the Chinese leaders. It is understood that during this visit Mr. Xi is going to announce an investment of a staggering and ambitious amount of $100 billion plus in India over a period of five years. This investment would give a boost to many dream projects of the Modi government to enable it to fulfil the “Acche Din” promise it made to the nation. There is no doubt that if India harbours the dream of becoming a world power it would have to first become a major economic power. But at the same time it cannot ignore the fact that no nation respects you unless you respect yourself. For that, India has to ensure that its Armed Forces are strong enough to ward off any threat to its borders or its core value of secularism. The Armed Forces also need money for modernisation and up gradation of its equipment and for making up the “voids.” Hence India should consider the Chinese model of simultaneous growth of economy and defence forces. India also has to ensure that while the investment in development oriented industries like infrastructure, automobiles, food processing, manufacturing, IT and power is welcomed; investment in critical and strategic industries like defence, space, and communications should be fire walled. At the same time India’s strength in software can prove a boon for the Chinese companies to make them more efficient and competitive. Indian companies must exploit the opportunity of exporting services to China. India must also see to it that the economic cooperation between the two neighbours should lead to cross-border trade and China must also provide access to its so far regulated market. Both countries must strive to boost tourism to encourage people-to-people contact. The aim should be to reap benefits from a stronger regional and international partnership between the two countries. Mr. Modi while interacting with the Chinese media spelt his China-Policy as follows, “For enhancing and strengthening bilateral relations, we should show mutual sensitivity to each other’s concerns and aspirations, follow the principle of mutual and equal security, seek closer developmental partnership and enhance people-to-people exchanges to create better understanding. I am looking forward to deepening our engagement across the full spectrum of our bilateral relations, but also seeking progress on issues of concern, because resolution of these issues will transform the atmosphere in our relations and allow us to realise the full potential of our relations.” It is evident from the statement that the Prime Minister is fully conscious of the fact that efforts need to be made concurrently for resolution of disputes between the two countries. There is a deep mistrust between the two countries on matters of security. Unsettled and demarcated borders, frequent border incursions, rapid development of infrastructure on the Chinese side of border, asylum to Tibet government in exile, military-nuclear cooperation with Pakistan and reluctance to declare Pakistan as a state sponsor of terror, are the few issues which hamper the bilateral relations. The major foreign policy initiatives taken by Mr. Modi in the first 100 days of his government clearly indicate that he considers China as a competitor. He has a well thought out “Counter-China” policy in place. The visits to various foreign nations by him and his foreign minister clearly point towards giving shape to his “Counter-China” policy. A keen learner from military history he is following Chanakya’s maxim “An enemy’s neighbour is your friend.” The forthcoming visit of Mr. Modi to USA would add another dimension to his “Counter-China” policy. The Prime Minister also gave a hint of his thinking in address to the Japanese business leaders when he talked of “Vistaar vaad” (Expansionism) versus “Vikas vaad” (Development). He clearly hinted at China without naming it. India cannot ignore China’s muscle-flexing on the borders. It cannot also afford at this stage to let it escalate into a confrontation. It is in the interest of both the countries that the tension on the borders is kept below the threshold level since any flare up on the borders would not only invite adverse international reaction but would also hamper the economic growth and developmental activities in both the countries. The best bet for India is to handle such incursions at the tactical and operational levels and let them not affect strategic relations. The Indian Army has given a befitting reply to any Chinese misadventure after the 1962 war. It goes to the credit of both the armies and nations that they have not allowed any of these incidents to get “out of control.” The existing Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) and prevalent protocols on the border have stood the test of time and must continue to be exploited. The additional measures being taken like raising of a new mountain strike corps will only add to India’s muscle power viz a viz the Chinese Army. It is a green signal for the era of economic cooperation to take off. Thus the visit of Mr. Xi would herald a pragmatic shift in policy of both the countries with economic cooperation being given a priority over other issues. While border disputes and security issues would not be side lined, yet they would not be allowed to derail the larger agenda of strengthening economic ties between the two neighbours. Strengthening economic ties and building mutual interdependencies is a prudent way to deter future conflict and competition. Modi’s mantra for Sino-Indian relations in the interim period is of equal stake-holders rather than competitors fighting for the same pie. (The author is a security and strategic analyst. He can be contacted at anil5457@gmail)
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:56:36 +0000
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