Meanwhile everyone's favorite on-line news:
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1061463.shtml
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech during the country's 71st Independence Day celebrations, which marks the 70th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule, at the historic Red Fort in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
India's attempt to blackmail China into concessions is destined to fail and the Doklam standoff has fundamentally changed how the country is viewed by China, from a friend to a rival, experts interviewed by the Global Times said Tuesday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that "Our armed forces always proved their mettle in handling both extremism and during war. Even the world acknowledged our power after the surgical strikes. National security is our priority," the Economic Times reported.
"Modi's speech shows he wants to divert public attention from domestic problems to foreign affairs, especially security issues. India has a lot of domestic problems, including a horrible incident at a hospital which killed dozens of children, as well as massive protests in several places. He hasn't been able to effectively deal with these issues, so he might consider that making problems with China will minimize the domestic impact on his administration," said Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"China will not show tolerance toward India, but the timing is very important. From 1959 to 1962, China gave India three years to change its mind," said Chu Yin, an associate professor at the University of International Relations.
The border frictions in 1959 started when India crossed the Line of Actual Control in South Tibet to support a Tibetan independence rebellion. In October 1962, China pushed back and gained an overwhelming victory against India in just a month.
Chu said the current situation is different from 1962 as the incident is happening in a non-disputed area within Chinese territory, so military measures this time may be touch and go.
"The BRICS Summit will provide a chance for both countries' top leaders to talk, and it's very likely this will be the last opportunity for peace," Chu added.
The upcoming BRICS summit will be held in China's southeastern coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, in September. It will be an important event in China's "domestic diplomacy" this year.
A major reason why India refuses to withdraw its troops from Chinese territory is that it believes China has more important issues to deal with this year than border issues, said Ye Hailin, director of the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. These include the BRICS summit and the 19th National Congress of the CPC, so India believes China will not punish it in the end.
"So this act of trespass in Doklam is typical 'blackmail.' There are some voices in China suggesting that the government should stay calm and avoid using violence, but showing tolerance toward blackmail only reinforces the feeling that it would work again. I believe China's policymakers understand this perfectly, and that peace or war is a choice for India, not China," Ye stressed
The only "achievement" that India gets from the Doklam incident so far is that it has successfully changed China's view of India from that of a friend to a rival. Once China identifies anyone as a rival, its policy toward this country will change fundamentally, Ye said.
Russia not picking sides
In the midst of the evolving security situation in the region, India and Russia will hold mega war games in October, involving their armies, navies and air forces for the first time to further ramp up military ties. The drills will be held in Russia from October 19 to 29 and will focus on achieving coordination between the forces of the two countries in a tri-services integrated theater command scenario, an Indian military source told the Indian Express.
"The joint exercise is a routine military exchange between India and Russia and it was planned much earlier than the Doklam incident, so there is no need to link this to the border standoff between China and India. The Russian government isn't picking sides on this issue," Hu said.
Just like Russia, the US also refuses to choose sides between China and India, and I would like to remind Indian politicians, that even in 1962, the US didn't provide any help to India during the conflict, and the US has a bad track record on betraying allies, especially semi-allies, Ye said.
The 1962 border conflict occurred at the same time as the Cuban missile crisis.
Blackmail Blackmail Blackmail
This so called "editor" of the mouthpiece of the CCP is even more hilarious.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1061492.shtml
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-china-idUSKCN1AV29F
As I predicted, August 15 was the day of the Chinese counterattack. Now my next prediction: Delhi will be a radioactive wasteland by the end of 2017!
Love to see this happen
WASHINGTON: With the threat of an economically and militarily assertive China looming before the US and India, US President Donald Trump chose India's Independence Day to signal that
Washington has New Delhi's back by announcing the two countries ''will elevate their strategic consultations.''
The US President called Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid domestic political turmoil in both countries (Trump buffeted over his softballing of white extremism in Charlottsville and Modi rocked by the Gorakhpur tragedy) ostensibly to congratulate Indians on the country's Independence Day celebration. But a White House readout on the call went far beyond the pleasantries, disclosing that ''the leaders resolved to enhance peace and stability across the
Indo-Pacific region by establishing a new two-by-two ministerial dialogue that will elevate their strategic consultations.''
The read-out did not elaborate on the two-by-two dialogue, but it said the two countries have a long overdue annual strategic dialogue mechanism instituted by previous administrations that typically involve high cabinet officials from both sides, including the secretary of state and commerce secretary from the US and their Indian counterparts.
Although the White House statement did not refer explicitly to China, much less the Doklam issue, the reference to enhancing peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region appears to be shot across Beijing's bow, and constitutes a continuation of the recognition by the Obama administration of India's stakes in the region.
The White House statement also came hours after Trump announced a review of China's trade practices, dialing down on his threat to initiate strong actions that could lead to a trade war in which both sides will suffer.
Notably, there was no Trump phone call to any Pakistani leader on the occasion of that country's Independence Day, confirming the impression that Washington has long de-hyphenated the two countries. Secretary Tillerson recently engaged with Islamabad with prospects of some bilateral visits involving him and Pakistan's new foreign minister KM Asif.
Trump also sought to ramp up business ties with India specifically talking up the Global Entrepreneur Summit in Hyderabad, India, this coming November for which he has detailed his daughter
Ivanka Trump to attend.
''As the leaders of two of the world's largest and fastest-growing major economies, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi looked forward to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India this November. President Trump has asked advisor to the President Ivanka Trump to lead the United States summit delegation,'' the White House readout noted.
Two other significant disclosures made in the White House readout that point to the growing geo-political engagement between the two countries on the opposite sides of the planet but now on the same side of the geo-political alignment: Trump talking up US energy supplies to India, including what the White House called the ''first ever shipment of American crude oil to India... from Texas this month,'' while pledging that the ''United States would continue to be a reliable, long-term supplier of energy,'' and Modi thanking Trump for his ''strong leadership uniting the world against the North Korean menace.''
The US energy supply commitment to India is essentially aimed at weaning New Delhi away from the Gulf/Arab countries that have long been India's primary suppliers. But China is also a buyer of American crude oil that has been liberated to export following the fracking boom that had made U.S an energy exporter.
Modi thanking Trump for his ''strong leadership uniting the world against the North Korean menace'' is also a rare recognition the US President's foreign policy chops that have been widely ridiculed in the US liberal media and across the world.
There was no indication in the White House read out or from the Indian side whether the two leaders discussed the principal enablers of
North Korea acquiring nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles - China and Pakistan.
In a separate message on the occasion of India's Independence Day, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States is ''proud to stand with the people of India, the world's largest democracy, in the cause for freedom and prosperity around the globe.''
''Prime Minister Modi's ambitious vision for the US-India relationship holds great promise for advancing our shared interests in the 21st century, and we look forward to the many years of friendship before us,'' Tillerson added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...levated-consultation/articleshow/60075992.cms
