Beijing debates why India looking eastwards

[ajtr]

Beijing debates why India looking eastwards​

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's tour of Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam has set the Chinese debating whether India intends to counter China with new eastern allies. "Japan and India have placed high expectations upon each other in combining strengths to counterbalance China," wrote a People's Daily


online columnist on Wednesday, under a headline asking if 'India's look east policy means look to encircle China?' Commentaries on the People's Daily website, the Communist Party mouthpiece, are considered an indicator of the official line.
The latest piece, ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao in Hanoi, implied that India must consider Chinese concerns while forging new ties in the region. "The savvy Indian leadership will never rashly board the ship of Japan without giving a glance at China's expression," it said, emphasising that China, not Japan, is India's largest trade partner.

"Any attempt by New Delhi to build strategic links to East Asian nations will be decried by Beijing," said research fellow Dean Cheng at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. "The point is not so much whether India (or any nation) is trying to encircle Beijing, but whether Beijing believes that's the case. This article typifies thinking in some quarters that this is precisely what's going on."

A Chinese analyst in Shanghai cautioned against 'over-interpreting' India's look east policy. "On the surface, India's look east policy is not strategic. It's to tap the opportunity to strengthen the nation's competitiveness and build India," Shen Dingli, executive dean of the Institute of International Relations at Fudan University, said.

"Look east does not mean fight east," said Shen. "Look east mostly means engage east."

The Chinese foreign ministry has emphasised friendly relations with India and avoided reacting to Singh's talks with his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan in Tokyo, where both leaders discussed the rise of China. The People's Daily commentary is the first detailed view from the state media on Singh's Tokyo stopover, at a time of Sino-Japanese tensions over political disputes.

The commentary suggested that India skip the 'out-of-tune' policy, 'no matter what a strong temptation it is at the idea of benefiting from China and Japan playing off each other or killing the rival by another's hand'.

 

[ajtr]

India's "Look East Policy" means "Look to encircle China" ?​

16:30, October 27, 2010
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By Li Hongmei

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-nation visit to Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam has been a media hype at home, being even describe as a missionary trip to seek new strategic allies to deal with China, and to showcase India's resolve to persist on its "Look East Policy" on its way to pursue the geopolitical and economic goals and achieve a "Big Power" status in the region, if not the leading power.

Some of the Indian media even add more color to Singh's Japan visit, besides the nuke deal and trade agreements, desperately crying it is high time for India that it strengthened the embankment of Tokyo to prevent "China's expansion."

As for Japan, whose relations with China have frosted over amid the diplomatic détente over the East China Sea, India, with a large consumer base, exudes a magnetic appeal to the presently sluggish economic power. Moreover, India's rare earth, although much less than China's deposits, is enough at the moment to present a peculiar fascination to Japan, who has all these days complaining about Chin's restriction on the rare earth exports and is anxious to get rid of the passive status quo caused by the undue reliance on China's supplies.

On top of that, India is viewed by Japan as an ideal partner to establish the strategic cooperation in security, based on the assumption that both of them are being threatened by China's military assertiveness in East China Sea as well as in the India Ocean. On this basis, Japan and India have both placed high expectations upon each other in combining strengths to counterbalance China.

But, what is noteworthy is that in Japan too, there are also sections that are wary of Tokyo aligning too closely with India. Robyn Lim, professor of international politics at Nanzan University in Nagoya, for instance, has been arguing that "the risks of alignment with India outweigh the advantages".

Some Japanese military observers somewhat echoed the opinion that it would be quite risky for Japan if it steps unusually close to India. A newly set alliance among Japan, India and Vietnam "might seem a logical response to China's ambitions in the South China Sea," as they opined.

The logic goes like this----India cannot protect Vietnam against China but its presence in Vietnam (if Hanoi were to give Delhi access to a naval base) would raise tensions with China and Japan would get drawn into the conflict. "Why would Japan wish to allow India to drag it into Vietnam's mostly self-inflicted problems with Beijing?" they argued.

Back to India, although its hawks are so intoxicated at the idea that India finally regains the momentum to counteract China's rising regional clout, with the " Look East Policy" as its guiding principle, encouraged by its leaders' sound relationship with ASEAN nations, and by taking advantage of the face-off between China and Japan, India still cannot relax its spasm of worries about China, nor can it brush aside the fear that China might nip its ambitions in the bud.

History is a great teacher. India's "Look East policy" was born out of failure---- the failure of India's Cold War strategy of "playing both ends against the middle", today, India is harping on the same string, but should wisely skip the out-of-tune piece. No matter what a strong temptation it is at the idea of benefiting from China and Japan playing off each other or killing the rival by another's hand.

The savvy Indian leadership will never rashly board the ship of Japan without giving a glance at China's expression. After all, it is not Japan, but China that acts as India's largest trade partner with the overall volume in 2010 to exceed US$ 60 billion.

By People's Daily Online

 

[r3alist]

india wants to be THE giant in asia would a prod from the US - so this is not surprising.

india is also provoking china hoping to get a reaction

i hope saner voiced in japan and china prevail and they can come to peace

 

[1971Tragedy]

U encircle us with chintu-pinto allies,well encircle u with hardcore allies
china string of pearls=pakistan,north korea,at most sri lanka.....
india string of pearls=Russia,japan,US,south korea,malaysia,vietnam...
that's the logic,it's very simple

 

[Abhishek_]

I'll contribute my 2 cents.
In my honest opinion the look east policy is primarily driven by development objectives. Even if there is a strategic coalition on the cards, it is bound to fail because let us be real, New Delhi and Beijing are big too big to be encircled.

I'll put my money on this; after these two countries realize the futility of this One-Upmanship, they will come to the table and sort out the petty issues that keep the two great nations apart. We have lived together for centuries, no reason why we cant do it now.

 

[1971Tragedy]

I'll contribute my 2 cents.
In my honest opinion the look east policy is primarily driven by development objectives. Even if there is a strategic coalition on the cards, it is bound to fail because let us be real, New Delhi and Beijing are big too big to be encircled.

I'll put my money on this; after these two countries get tired of the "game", they will come to the table and sort out the petty issues that keep the two great nations apart. We have lived together for centuries, no reason why we cant do it now.

This won't happen until they remove expansionist idea from tjeir mind..
u know if india wasn't there,they would have claimed the whole asia as china!!!!!

 

[Abhishek_]

This won't happen until they remove expansionist idea from tjeir mind..
u know if india wasn't there,they would have claimed the whole asia as china!!!!!

the dominant power will always find it easier to impose their will. If you want them to move away from the expansionist ideas, then you need to develop Yourself to an equal level. Hence the responsibility lies with India
Compromise occurs between equals

No need for finger pointing my friend...and lets not get in"if we were this or that" game, it's quite pointless.

 

[dingyibvs]

U encircle us with chintu-pinto allies,well encircle u with hardcore allies
china string of pearls=pakistan,north korea,at most sri lanka.....
india string of pearls=Russia,japan,US,south korea,malaysia,vietnam...
that's the logic,it's very simple

Among nations like Russia, Japan, and the U.S., India is one of the pearls not the other way around.

 

[Pride]

People may try to look this move from defence or strategic angle but in my opinion this is what an economic race is. China wants market for its product and hence looking for those countries which are some or other way not having proper economic ties with India and the same is applied by India as well but the only prob is that India is very much late in this game.

 

[1971Tragedy]

Among nations like Russia, Japan, and the U.S., India is one of the pearls not the other way around.

NO my dear friend,LOOK EAST POLICY is not Russia's or US,it's clearly Indian......read the news before u post dear friend
this is from People's daily mouth peice of communist party of china
"if 'India's look east policy means look to encircle China?'""

 

[no_name]

All relationships have to start somewhere. There is no need to be alarmed.

 

[r3alist]

Among nations like Russia, Japan, and the U.S., India is one of the pearls not the other way around.

ha, excellent response- japan is currently stronger than india.

 

[ao333]

The Indian economy isn't even a quarter the size of Japan's. Not too much can be said of its miltary either, not at least when its the world's largest arms importer. Who's whose pearl?

 

[nForce]

The Indian economy isn't even a quarter the size of Japan's. Not too much can be said of its miltary either, not at least when its the world's largest arms importer. Who's whose pearl?

It is PPP that matters....The gap is not much in terms of PPP.Considering the growth curve,it can be said that the tiny gap will be surpassed soon....

---------- Post added at 08:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:18 AM ----------

ha, excellent response- japan is currently stronger than india.

and you stand nowhere in the scenario....take another look at the topic at hand....

 

[PAKFA]

India is growing largest economy . India has its own energy and business requirement.We need more trade , more energy so that pace of our economy can be maintained.In this bid we are approaching every nation of world including china and Pakistan. China is one of largest trading partner of India , We working with Pakistan for various gas pipline and other business. So neither we are pearl nor we are string.