China

‘China in SAARC? To What Effect?’:A Comment

There is a common tendency among analysts and policy makers to compare SAARC with the EU and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). This is not fair. There are significant differences among these three regional groupings. Geo-strategically India looms too large in SAARC in a manner incomparable with Indonesia in ASEAN or Germany and France in the EU. Economically, SAARC started with a poor economic base and there were no large investments from outsiders like in ASEAN and the EU to boost economic cooperation.

China in SAARC? Too Early to Worry: A Response to ‘China in SAARC? To What Effect?’ by Sujit Dutta

Professor Sujit Dutta's article, ‘China in SAARC? To What Effect?’ has made an excellent case for the desirability of regionalism as it offers public commons to members of such institutions. Indeed the EU and ASEAN are prime examples of such cooperation as they generate political, economic and security benefits for their members, though to different degrees.

China in SAARC? To What Effect?

Over the past few years there has been a move by some of the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to induct China into the regional organisation. China, in turn, has indicated its desire to join. Since other extra-regional states were also keen to be involved, SAARC has opened its doors since 2007 for out-of region states through a new arrangement.

‘China in SAARC? To What Effect?’: A Response to the Debate

The responses to the arguments that I forwarded in my initial essay, ‘China in SAARC? To What Effect?’, have introduced interesting dimensions to this debate. While most of the respondents have agreed with my proposition that it is premature to think about China's entry into the South Asian regionalist project and that it would introduce complex challenges that would be difficult to manage, they disagree with some of the reasons that I have cited.

The Time is Not Ripe for China’s Entry

Is democracy a criterion for the membership of SAARC? It is not. One should not forget that it was General Zia ur Rahman, president of Bangladesh, who had initiated regional cooperation as a part of his strategy to diversify Bangladesh's Indo-centric foreign policy after Sheikh Mujib's assassination. The grouping in the beginning had two monarchs from Nepal and Bhutan, two military dictators from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and one authoritarian ruler from the Maldives, apart from India and Sri Lanka which were democracies as member countries.

China’s Expanding Footprint in Nepal: Threats to India

Nepal used to be a safe zone for India. China was least interested in Nepal till 1950s. But strategic design changed once China forcefully occupied Tibet. Nehru tried to strengthen the Indian positioning in Himalayan sphere vis-àvis China. Things became more complicated once China started intruding in Nepal. This article tries to see the emerging Chinese threats from Nepal. Since 1,751 km India-Nepal border runs through 20 districts of five Indian states. The India-Nepal border is open. China has tried through its long strategy to erase Nepalese dependency on India.

China’s Cyber Warfare Capability and India’s Concerns

The Chinese cyber warfare department’s multiple agencies and individuals are seriously working towards the overall objective of instantly disrupting or at least weakening the adversary’s computer networks so as to paralyse his decision making capability at the very commencement of hostilities. It is very difficult to protect networks from such attacks. The weakest link in cyber security measures are the persons operating the system who often, knowingly or unknowingly, default on cyber security measures.