A message for the planners in dealing with the Dragon

Source- The post is based on the article “A message for the planners in dealing with the Dragon” published in “The Hindu” on 19th April 2023.

Syllabus: GS2- Bilateral groupings and agreements

Relevance– India and China bilateral relationship

News– Recently, China remanded 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. There was also denial of visas to some Indian media personnel who the Chinese consider to be ‘unhelpful’ in their reporting.

Why does China need to be taken seriously?

Some experts consider China’s President Xi Jinping as less of a Sun Tzu follower. He is close to Mao who believes in power flowing through the barrel of a gun.

Some experts argue that Xi Jinping should be taken seriously when he says that he is preparing China for war.

He has called for working together, dare to fight, break out of dependence on foreign technologies and rally behind the People’s Liberation Army to make China great again.

There have been border talks with China and post-talks statement of ‘working together to maintain peace’. Such long drawn out negotiations appear to be purely tactical positions. But it needs to be viewed through a strategic prism.

What are the issues with the capability of the Indian armed forces?

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, in its March 2023 report has shown the shortcomings in defence hardware and equipments with Indian armed forces

The committee has commented adversely on the slow production rate of the Tejas fighter by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It noted that the IAF’s urgent need to make up its dwindling squadron numbers through the 114 Multi Role Fighter Aircraft project.

Similar observations have been made for hardware procurement for the Indian Army. The committee has acknowledged that funds are scarce. It has recommended that allocation for defence should be 3% of GDP to maintain India’s deterrent posture.

The ongoing one-year-plus Russia-Ukraine conflict has shown that power is not just about possessing capability but also about the capacity-to-last-the-distance too. India’s acquisition plans must be oriented accordingly.