Sino-Indian rivalry
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 27 , 2014 -

After Sukhoi-MKI fighter jets, the Government of India has deployed surface to air Akash missiles in the North East to deter Chinese jets, helicopters and drones against any misadventure in the region, as reported in media recently.

Defence analysts have been claiming that the Akash deployment in the North East is in tune with the overall plan to progressively achieve meaningful and credible deterrence against China along the 4057 Km Line of Actual Control (LAC).

There is no element of surprise when Sukhoi fighter jets and Akash missiles are deployed in the region considering the region’s strategic importance from the Government of India’s security point of view.

Apart from purported incursion by Chinese troops into forward areas of India, Arunachal Pradesh still remains an intractable bone of contention between the two countries.

Although there is no visible hostility, the rivalry between India and China, befittingly called Asian giants on account of their huge populations, territories and fast growing economies, is no secret and this rivalry is primarily rooted in their diverse geopolitics and intersecting economic interests.

This has created a seemingly irreconcilable dichotomy between the two powers even though their geographical expansion patterns throughout history have rarely overlapped or interacted with each other.

The two countries fought a limited war in 1962. Before that, they have little long-standing historical or ethnic animosity.

Yet, the dispute over the demarcation of their common frontier in the Himalayan foothills, from Kashmir in the West to Arunachal Pradesh in the East is ostensibly a source of serious tension in its own right.

The simmering tension was there since the colonial era but it is not the primary cause of the new rivalry.

The principal factor for the new rivalry is the disappearance of distance as a result of advancement in military technology. When China and India are engaged in some sort of cold war at the regional level, it is Kashmir, Tibet, the whole North East and Myanmar which together constitute the frontline for politico-military confrontation.

Nowhere is this contest for regional hegemony between China and India more evident than in Myanmar which is then deflected to the Northeastern region as exemplified by the deployment of India’s most potent fighter jets followed by Akash missiles.

Enhanced militarization of the North East is one obvious fall out of the Sino-Indian rivalry. This is understandable given the fact that both the countries are suspicious of each other’s long term agenda and intentions, and both see themselves as emerging great Asian powers whose time has finally come.

Since the colonial era, Manipur and the North East region always occupy central position in the geo-politics of imperial powers.

In fact, the decisive battles of Imphal and Kohima during World War II have been voted the greatest battles fought in the history of the British Army in a contest organised by the National Army Museum in England in April 2013. Given these facts, one can safely conclude that Manipur was given maximum geo-strategic importance by the imperial powers.

But strategic significance of Manipur’s location often turned out to be bane for her people rather than a boon. It was this geo-strategic significance which made Imphal one of the most heavily bombed towns in the entire South and South East Asia during the war.

Again, geo-strategic importance is one primary factor for making Manipur one of the most militarized States in India today. This is the tragedy of the whole North East region.

What is even more tragic is that people of the region are in no position to help themselves out of the precarious situation. We can only hope that India and China resolve all their bilateral issues on the negotiating table rather than through military might.