Indian officials and military officers have expressed concern at a widening gap between the country's present and planned military capabilities and those of China, it has been reported.
The defence gap between the world's two most populous countries has created a possible "collusive threat" from China and its ally Pakistan, according to a report in the Financial Times.
The fears were highlighted by the chairman of India's National Security Advisory Board, who described the country's ministry of defence as "dysfunctional" when it came to long-term planning.
"India's strategic interests extend between the Suez and Shanghai
but we have neither the manpower nor the strategic thinking to handle these challenges," K. Shankar Bajpai said.
Retired Lieutenant General PC Katoch echoed those comments, saying: "We have celebrated our 64th independence day, and we still don't have a national security strategy.
"The ministry of defence does not have a set-up for strategic thinking".
There is also a considerable spending gap between the two countries, with research by the Stockholm Institute for Peace Research showing that India's $36bn defence budget is less than a third the size of China's estimated $114bn defence spend.
In August, a US government report expressed concern at the growth of China's military, which is developing indigenous aircraft carrier and stealth jet fighter programmes.
The People's Liberation Army is expected to have a modern, fully capable military by 2020, the US has estimated.
