India: India accelerating arms build up against China

New Delhi – With 126 fighter jets from France, a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and its first aircraft carrier, India is spending tens of billions of dollars to strengthen its position in the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean against China. Although analysts view the possibility of a conflict between New Delhi and Beijing as very remote, tensions between the two Asian giants can still flare up on their common mountain border.

"Over the last couple of years, the Chinese have been acting more and more aggressively in the political, diplomatic and military arena," said retired Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal, director of the Indian army-funded Centre for Land Warfare Studies in New Delhi.

Beijing, for example, has extended its influence in South Asia by investing in harbour development in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

However, for Zhao Gancheng, a South Asian expert from the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Studies, India's reasons for building up its military go well beyond China.

"Of course, India takes a cautious attitude against China due to some unsettled historical issues. But I still believe India's fundamental goal of developing the military ability is to become a globally big country," Zhao said. Thus, "it wants to make certain preparation for so-called potential threats coming from China and other countries.”

Yet, “From China's perspective, India's military build-up is "not a main factor" in Beijing’s defence plans. What is more, the drive to modernise Indian forces also stems from the need to replace obsolete Soviet-era equipment and weapons.

Its orders for fighter jets, naval frigates, helicopters and armaments have made New Delhi the world's largest importer of arms. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India accounted for 9 per cent of all the world's weapon imports in 2010, the latest year for which figures were available, 82 per cent from Russia.

In the case of French-made Dassault fighter jets, the initial cost is estimated as US$ 11 billion, but on-board weaponry, technology transfers, maintenance, warranties and other costs are expected to almost double the price.

Last week, the Indian Navy also took command of a Russian Nerpa nuclear submarine, renamed INS Chakra-II, on lease for 10 years at a cost of nearly $1 billion, propelling India into an elite group of countries (United States, France, Russia, Britain and China) operating underwater nuclear-powered vessels.

Still, neither India nor China appears worried by this arms race or possible tensions. Indeed, in a statement made in Beijing on Wednesday where he inaugurated India's new US$ 10-million embassy, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna stressed New Delhi's support to Beijing on the Tibetan issue, including on arrests in Sichuan and self-immolating monks.

The unusually strong terms he used belie the fact that the Tibetan government-in-exile is located in Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) since 1960.