BanglaBhoot
RETIRED TTA
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- Apr 8, 2007
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Fazle Rashid in New York
With over half its population living under the poverty line, India is aspiring to be a global military power. Long embedded in the Gandhi-Nehru philosophy of non-violence India has now started to remodel itself as a military power with global reach.
An average Indian earns less than $1.25 a day and a half of the Indians have no access to pure drinking water, sanitation, primary health care and education.
A protege of the former Soviet Union, India's military dream has been whetted by its nuclear deal with the US. Washington is happy on two counts. The US thinks India will stand up to the unrivalled might of China and will throw open its vast market to American military hardware.
India's arms shopping list includes armaments that major powers like US use to operate from home; aircraft carrier, giant C130J transport planes and airborne refueling tankers. India has already helped Tajikistan to build an airport that it will share with the host nation. It is India's first military outpost on foreign soil, the New York Times reported recently.
India is arming itself to the teeth because it thinks China has military bases in Chittagong, Gwadar in Pakistan and in Yangon in Myanmar.
Pranab Mukherjee, former defence minister and now foreign minister of India, was quoted by the New York Times as saying: "Naturally with a country of this size, a population of this size, we will be required to strengthen our security forces, modernise them, update them and upgrade the technology." India's defence buildup is to enable it to dispatch troops thousands of miles from the sub-continent, to protect its oil and trade routes and defend its large expatriate population in Middle East.
What New Dehli exactly means to protect its workers in the Middle East is not very clear. Will India go for military action against Middle Eastern countries to protect its workers?
What will be of immense concern for South Asia is India's avowed intention of being a caretaker and patroller of the Indian Ocean. India's military planning is focused on China and Pakistan against both of which the country was entangled in wars. China has not reacted to the Indian move but Pakistan expressed concern saying "we are paying attention to Indian plans to project itself as a global power."
India's military buildup has "several overlapping motivations." India is engaged in oil business in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Russia, Sudan, Syria and Vietnam. It is this reasons that has prompted India to keep the sea routes free from pirates and militants, analysts said.
If India is aspiring to challenge China it is just doing it in vain. China is miles ahead of India in all spheres, be it economy, military, technology and space science.
China's military budget is also expanding rapidly. China has sought to develop a powerful air force and navy that can extend far beyond its shores. It plans to spend $60 billion on its armed forces in 2008.
The Pentagon estimates that China's actual military spending is perhaps twice the officially budgeted amount, as much as seven times India's defence outlay.
India is expected to spend $40 billion in the next five years to modernise its defence forces. The most notable purchases are six IL-78 airborne tankers which can refuel three jets simultaneously. Other armaments recently acquired include destroyers, submarines and aircraft carriers.
India-Tajikistan arrangement is described as a big deal. "What is important is that we stop worrying about how the world will impact us and we step out and worry about how we will impact the world," the New York Times quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying.
HOLIDAY > FRONT PAGE
With over half its population living under the poverty line, India is aspiring to be a global military power. Long embedded in the Gandhi-Nehru philosophy of non-violence India has now started to remodel itself as a military power with global reach.
An average Indian earns less than $1.25 a day and a half of the Indians have no access to pure drinking water, sanitation, primary health care and education.
A protege of the former Soviet Union, India's military dream has been whetted by its nuclear deal with the US. Washington is happy on two counts. The US thinks India will stand up to the unrivalled might of China and will throw open its vast market to American military hardware.
India's arms shopping list includes armaments that major powers like US use to operate from home; aircraft carrier, giant C130J transport planes and airborne refueling tankers. India has already helped Tajikistan to build an airport that it will share with the host nation. It is India's first military outpost on foreign soil, the New York Times reported recently.
India is arming itself to the teeth because it thinks China has military bases in Chittagong, Gwadar in Pakistan and in Yangon in Myanmar.
Pranab Mukherjee, former defence minister and now foreign minister of India, was quoted by the New York Times as saying: "Naturally with a country of this size, a population of this size, we will be required to strengthen our security forces, modernise them, update them and upgrade the technology." India's defence buildup is to enable it to dispatch troops thousands of miles from the sub-continent, to protect its oil and trade routes and defend its large expatriate population in Middle East.
What New Dehli exactly means to protect its workers in the Middle East is not very clear. Will India go for military action against Middle Eastern countries to protect its workers?
What will be of immense concern for South Asia is India's avowed intention of being a caretaker and patroller of the Indian Ocean. India's military planning is focused on China and Pakistan against both of which the country was entangled in wars. China has not reacted to the Indian move but Pakistan expressed concern saying "we are paying attention to Indian plans to project itself as a global power."
India's military buildup has "several overlapping motivations." India is engaged in oil business in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Russia, Sudan, Syria and Vietnam. It is this reasons that has prompted India to keep the sea routes free from pirates and militants, analysts said.
If India is aspiring to challenge China it is just doing it in vain. China is miles ahead of India in all spheres, be it economy, military, technology and space science.
China's military budget is also expanding rapidly. China has sought to develop a powerful air force and navy that can extend far beyond its shores. It plans to spend $60 billion on its armed forces in 2008.
The Pentagon estimates that China's actual military spending is perhaps twice the officially budgeted amount, as much as seven times India's defence outlay.
India is expected to spend $40 billion in the next five years to modernise its defence forces. The most notable purchases are six IL-78 airborne tankers which can refuel three jets simultaneously. Other armaments recently acquired include destroyers, submarines and aircraft carriers.
India-Tajikistan arrangement is described as a big deal. "What is important is that we stop worrying about how the world will impact us and we step out and worry about how we will impact the world," the New York Times quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying.
HOLIDAY > FRONT PAGE
