China’s ever increasing defence budget The Excelsior 14 Mar 2024 China last week released its annual budget as part of its National People’s Conference, the country’s rubber-stamp legislature. There was an increase of 7.2% for defence over the previous year. Defence expenditure has witnessed a steady rise since Xi Jinping became President of the country in 2013. The budget […]
The big brother syndrome E TV English 13 Mar 2024 China faces tensions with almost all its neighbours. It has disagreements with Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and even the small Sultanate of Brunei. Disputes stem from either shoals and islands in the South and East China Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) or on alliances with the […]
The China syndrome The Excelsior 05 Mar 2024 There were a multitude of comments concerning Indo-China ties in recent days. Addressing the INDUS-X summit in New Delhi, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, stated, ‘India is giving a face-off to our neighbour in almost all fronts we have with them, wherever there is a mountain pass, we are stationed there, and […]
Much hinges on China’s poll gamble in Taiwan The Statesman 09 Jan 2024 Xi Jinping in his annual New Years Day address stated, ‘China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose.’ Earlier in his summit with President Biden, Xi Jinping bluntly stated that […]
Why Chinese emperor seems so insecure The First Post 25 Sep 2023 In July 1979, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain assembled about 100 members of his Baathist party in a room. He then announced a plot against him and one by one, members of his party, accused of plotting, were led out. Those who remained, immediately swore loyalty to Saddam. […]
How Xi’s non-presence at New Delhi G20 summit will save blushes for both India and China First Post 07 Sep 2023 It is now official. Xi Jinping, the Chinese President will not be attending the G20 summit. Fareed Zakaria, a veteran journalist and geopolitical expert, stated in an interview that Xi Jinping missing the summit implies that China is […]
China’s cartographic aggression: Implications for India’s geopolitical landscape First Post 06 Sep 2023 On 08 May 2020, Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated a newly built 80 Km-road linking India’s Dharchula to the LAC via the Lipulekh pass. The intent was to facilitate movement of pilgrims to the Mansoravar lake in Tibet. Lipulekh is disputed between Nepal and […]
A CPEC which stumbles on The Excelsior 31 Aug 2023 In a meeting, last week, with Pakistan’s former federal minister, Ahsan Iqbal and a Pakistani delegation, Chinese ruling Party Secretary, Ma Xingrui, stated in Urumqi, that the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, desired to make the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) an ‘exemplary’ project of the BRI (Belt Road Initiative), with Xinjiang […]
Can New Delhi and Beijing achieve a breakthrough The Statesman 29 Aug 2023 The only nation to challenge Chinese domination in the recently concluded SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and the BRICS summit was India. India, whose Chandrayaan 3 mission successfully landed on the moon, during the BRICS summit, gave it a special moment. India disagreed with multiple Chinese proposals […]
India changing Chinese goalposts The Excelsior 25 Aug 2023 The nineteenth round of Indo-China talks at the military level held last week at the Moldo-Chushul border outpost was a rare two-day event. Much was expected as these were held just days before the Indian PM and Chinese President come face-to-face at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Both are also […]