Lieutenant-General Singh may find that India's improving relationship with the United States could lead to acceptance of the US Navy's presence in the northern Indian Ocean region. Even the apparently benign presence of the US would restrict the actions of the Indian navy in a region that India claims as its own. More than US$100 billion of China's trade passes through the Indian Ocean, and this is growing rapidly. It is expected that the Chinese will sooner rather than later increase their presence in the Indian Ocean, and that is most likely to be with nuclear submarines. It is therefore of utmost importance for the Indian naval authorities in the coming years to work out an arrangement whereby the Chinese navy, in collaboration with the Indian navy, plays a role in maintaining the steady flow of maritime trade. If India succeeds in getting this difficult task accomplished, then even the benign presence of the US Navy would be questioned. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FL24Df02.html
The US Navy’s presence in the northern Indian Ocean region would put us in a position to block the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Hormuz, two crucial choke points in Bush’s world war against China. #msg-4560388
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said during a visit to Singapore that he hoped to have US troops fighting terrorism in Southeast Asia "pretty soon". His comments fuelled speculation that the United States wants to deploy US forces in the Strait of Malacca, the narrow and busy shipping lane straddled by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore that is seen as a likely terrorist target.
More than one million tonnes of oil a year -- well over 80 percent of China's imports -- are shipped through the narrow strait. #msg-3404130 #msg-4474975 #msg-4500069
Gwadar would place the Chinese navy next to Iran’s shipping lane the Strait of Hormuz. The Chinese have a considerable investment in Iran’s oil and gas. Bush plans on attacking Iran by choking the Strait of Hormuz. See also: #msg-4405001 #msg-4419898 #msg-3483139 #msg-2645232 #msg-3864658
While this may change, an amphibious attack was originally targeted against Iran from the Arabian Sea, with a provocative US blockade in the Gulf of Oman to choke Iran’s sealanes of communications. Pakistan would be the base for mounting massive air reconnaissance and surveillance of Iran, while Iranian dissidents, backed by the US army, would launch land assaults from the Iraq-Iran border. Diplomatic sources say, the main body of the plan would remain the same, although component tactics could change. #msg-3480614
Note: Bush is going for a takeover of Balochistan, the home of Gwadar port, setting up a military occupation as a means to contain Iran. This is a clandestine operation and the American public will as usual remain oblivious. See #msg-4804924 #msg-4799713
A similar conspiracy could now be witnessed to realise the American dream of “Greater Balochistan”, he claimed.
Foreign involvement could not be ruled out in the bomb blasts that had rocked the province, he said. When told that the BLA had claimed responsibility for the bombing, he said foreign elements could be using local proxies to carry out terrorist activities. Such activities could hurt negotiations between the nationalist parties and federal government, he said, adding that it was the nationalists’ moral duty to separate themselves from such organisations. Talking about the BLA, the chief minister said such organisations might be active in their territories, but the government would bring them to justice. – Told to Daily Times by Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Yousaf
This, I would think, is only one aspect of China’s plan to neutralize U.S. influence in India and the region. #msg-4915095 #msg-4915131
-Am
[ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2004 12:00:01 AM ]
The dragon's intentions are always suspect
The Chinese certainly don't believe in doing things in half measures. While we have been napping, they have been adding more than 2,000 km of highway per year to Tibet at the cost of 10 trillion yuan. Apart from improving connectivity with Tibet, what Beijing is doing is laying the foundations for its economic integration with its border regions in India, Bhutan and Nepal. China already has a highway to the Nepal border which is capable of transporting tanks. Should we be worried? Of course we should. While this road-building will not spill over into hostilities between the two countries, it poses an even greater threat. It will allow China to consolidate its economic domination of the region. Plans are on the anvil for cross-border energy pipelines and fibre optic links with Nepal. India predictably has no such infrastructure which could improve economic relations with immediate neighbours.
The Chinese clearly understand that by strengthening border infrastructure, it can expand also not just its economic but also its political and cultural influence in the subcontinental region. Past experience has shown that Beijing is never transparent in its dealings. The same infrastructure could well be used to challenge India militarily if the need arises. We should not wear rose-tinted glasses on Sino-Indian relations just because things are going smoothly at present. The obvious way to pre-empt any such action would be for us to get our act together as far as border infrastructure is concerned. We have a long way to go before we catch up, if ever, with China. But this wait and watch policy will not do. If not for anything else, beefing up our infrastructure would boost development in our border regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, UP, Himachal, West Bengal and the north-east.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
