Facing China in the face

Indian diplomacy vis a vis China has been one of caution combined with cooperation. Contrary to the popular observation that this has been the case post 1962, the fact is that we haven't glared at China since independence. The only reason behind this is a weariness to have unnecessary confrontations with a neighbour and a pyschological block with respect to the rapid military modernization of the Chinese.
The Chinese are aware of this and are taking a very good advantage of the same. Their foreign policy vis a vis India is to talk sweetly but give away nothing. At the same time it makes moves which are without doubt counterproductive to India's intrests in the region. The latest being the proposal of a railway line through the Karakoram pass in the Himalayas. And I have not even started on the nuclear deal with Pakistan.
So what does all this mean? one thing for sure: China does not want India to settle down as a stable country in the region. This would mean an increase in India's presence not just in S.Asia but also Eastern Asia. This is a typical carrot and stick mentality by China. Where on one side we have irrelevant border talks where they have no intrest in resolving any issue to building railway tracks right next to our border facing states.
So what can India do? To start with assert itself in terms of a regional power. The latest development by India has been placing of an attack corps on the border with China. This is probably for the first time that India is laying the ground for a quick response into enemy territory after the recent opening up of an airbase in Assam. More such units need to be established on the border to make the message to Beijing absolutely clear: We understand the games that you are playing and while we are completely receptive to any peaceful solution of the border issue, we will have our own detterents in place.
At the waters China seems to be on a mission to have it's influence in the Indian Ocean. As previously mentioned in this blog, submarines with warheads need to be purchased quickly to counter these moves by the Chinese navy. More maritime cooperation with E Asian countries, diplomatic lobbying could be a potential blocker to Chinese intrests in the Indian Ocean.
On the diplomatic front we continue to try and bring a peaceful solution to the border issue with sincere effort and some hard bargaining.
What we need to keep in mind is that China has no intention of letting India gain a stratergic hold on East and South East India. India could not and never should be involved in any direct military confrontations with China since it would not have favorable results economically and could spiral into a major crises. What India can do is to be proactive and thrawt any Chinese moves which are to our detriment by facing China in the eye and having our own counter moves ready.

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