Indo-China Relations : Historical Background

It is said that 21st Century is an Asian Century. If it is true, the two Asian giants China and India with a combined population of 2·4 billion, having a glorious civilisational past and thriving economic growth are going to reshape the World History in 21st Century. However, the bilateral relations between the two countries are marred by certain contentious issues which negatively affect their joint potential to play an effective role in global affairs.

Briefly, the relations between the two countries can be explained under three phases. The first phase (1949–1957) may be termed as an era of Ideological overtones Before the communist revolution in China in 1949, the Chinese Premier Chiang Kai Shek visited India in 1942 and supported India’s Independence. Even before that the Indian Medical Mission led by Dr. Kotnis visited China in 1930s during China-Japan war, which was appreciated by Chinese people and rulers alike. Inspite of Chinese incursion in Tibet, Indian and Chinese Premiers exchanged visits and both countries signed panchsheel agreement in 1954; which was to guide relations between the two countries.

The Second Phase (1957–1978) is a period of clash and tensions between the two countries. The imperial designs of China became evident in 1959 when it led military occupation of Tibet. The refugees led by Dalai Lama formed government in exile in India which irked the Chinese establishment. Consequently China launched a full scale attack against India in Oct. 1962 and occupied large tracts of Indian territory in Western Sector. The humiliation received by India in this war led a period of tensions between the two countries.

The third phase (1978-till date) is a period of normalisation of relationship between the two countries. The main spirit guiding this phase is that while border dispute and Tibet issue remain as unresolved, both countries have agreed to move ahead in other areas of co-operation specially economic co-operation. The main highlights of this phase are :
● Both countries re-established diplomatic relations in 1976, which were snapped after 1962 war.
● Indian Foreign Minister A. B. Bajpai visited China in Feb. 1979.
● 1981–Chinese Foreign Minister visited India and both countries agreed to start negotiation to solve the boundary dispute.
● Eight rounds of boundary talks were held between the two countries till 1987 but no solution was found.
● Indian P.M. Rajeev Gandhi visited China in 1988 and both agreed to form a joint working group to find the solution of boundary problem.
● Chinese Premier visited India in Dec. 1991 and both countries agreed to open business consulates and restart land border trade.
● Indian President Venkatraman visited China in 1992 on a goodwill mission. He was the first Indian President to visit China.
● Indian P.M. Narsimha Rao visited China in Sep. 1993 and both countries agreed to maintain peace in the border areas.
● In order to expand trade relations, both countries granted each other the status of Most Favoured Nation in 1984 and set up a ministerial level Joint Group on Economic Relations and Trade Science and Technology (JEG).
● Indian P.M. A. B. Bajpai visited China in June 2003 which resulted, inter alia, in the setting up of a Joint Study Group (JSG) to examine the potential complementarities between the two countries in expanded trade and economic co-operation.
● Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India in April 2005. The recommendations of JSG were accepted. The JSG recommended an Indo-China Regional Trading agreement, comprising trade in goods and services, investment and trade promotion and facilitation and measures for promotion of economic co-operation in identified sectors.
● The Chinese President visited India in Nov.-Dec. 2006 which provided a further filip to cooperation and bilateral trade between the two countries. Both countries agreed to raise the volume of bilateral trade to $ 40b by 2010 and to expedite feasibility study for Indo-China Regional Trading Arrangement by Oct. 2007.
● The Indian P.M. Manmohan Singh visited China in Jan. (13th to 15th) 2008.

Indo-China Relations

The three day visit of Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh to China from 13th to 15th Jan. 2008, marks a further push in the ongoing process of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. In the past twenty years or so both the countries have come to realise that the bilateral problem of boundary issue should not come in the way of strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations in other areas between the two countries. This visit helps in consolidating economic relations between the two countries.

During the visit, the Indian PM Manmohan Singh and the Chinese Premier signed a joint statement titled ‘A Shared Vision for the 21st Century’ at the Great Hall of People in Beijing on 14th Jan. 2008. However, the joint statement could not indicate any breakthrough on the most intractable boundary issue between the two countries. There was a reiteration of the official position of both sides to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary issue on the basis of the political parameters and guiding principles announced in 2005. Yet the shared vision for 21st century contains some new issues such as bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy, Chinese support for India’s desire to play a greater role in the United Nations Security Council and the possibility of commencing discussion on a Regional Trade Agreement.

On civil nuclear cooperation, the ‘Shared vision’ statement mentions that the two sides pledge to promote bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy, consistent with their respective international commitments, which will contribute to energy security and to dealing with risks associated with climate change. In fact, this statement is more advanced in comparison to the joint declaration made by two countries in this regard during the India visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao in Nov. 2006. It should be noted that China is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and therefore, in view of the above development, China is likely to support Indo-US nuclear deal as and when it comes before the meeting of the NSG.

The second important issue contained in the shared vision statement is the possible Chinese support to India on the issue of Security Council membership. For the first time, the joint statement mentions that “the Chinese side understands and supports India’s aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations, including the Security Council”. The inclusion of security Council is an important development as far as Chinese support to Indian claim for Security Council membership is concerned.

On trade, the two sides announced a new trade target of $ 60b by 2010 as the earlier target of $ 40b of bilateral trade was met at the end of 2007. It was agreed by both sides that the Regional Trade Agreement between the two countries was mutually advantageous. Though joint feasibility study was concluded in this respect, the agreement was not finalised due to strong opposition from Indian Industry. However, both countries agreed to explore the possibility of commencing discussion on the Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) through the mechanism of joint economic group. It was also decided to establish a business leaders forum to give feedback to the government on ways in which to strengthen the economic engagement. The ‘Shared Vision for the 21st Century’ document also states the common position that the two countries share on a range of issues including the trade talks at the World Trade Organisation and talks on climate change. In these two international issues, both China and India hold common ground along with other developing countries vis-a-vis developed countries.

In addition to the Shared vision declaration, both countries also signed 10 other bilateral agreements for co-operation in diverse fields such as railway, housing, land resources, cultural exchanges, geo-sciences, traditional medicines, agriculture and export of Indian tobacco to China. Dr. Manmohan Singh described his talks with the Chinese Premier as constructive and forward looking.

Warren Buffett Becomes World’s Richest : Forbes

In changing scene in world’s billionaire club, billionaire Anil Ambani has emerged as the biggest wealth creator, while famed American investor Warren Buffett has overtaken software king Bill Gates and Mexican Tycoon Carlos Slim to lead the list of world’s richest people released by Forbes on March 6, 2008. With a net worth of $ 62 billion, Buffett has topped the list, followed by Carlos Slim Helu ($ 60 billion) and Bill Gates ($ 58 billion) on second and 3rd positions.

These three are followed by three Indians—Lakshmi Mittal ($ 45 billion), Mukesh ($ 43 billion) and Anil ($ 42 billion) on fourth, fifth and sixth ranks.

K. P. Singh too made it to the top 10 by occupying the eighth position with a net worth of $ 30 billion. In terms of wealth created in the last one year, Anil Ambani has come on top, followed by his elder brother Mukesh Ambani. Other two in the top 10 are Russia’s Oleg Deripaska ($ 28 billion) and Germany’s Karl Albrecht ($ 27 billion).

As per the Forbes’ declaration Anil Ambani is the biggest gainer with wealth soaring by $ 23.8 billion since the last list. He is only $ 1 billion behind his brother Mukesh, who is the second biggest gainer with a rise of $ 22·9 billion in his net worth.

The Forbes list also includes Sunil Mittal and family with net worth $ 11·8 billion, Kumar Birla and Ramesh Chandra with $ 9·6 billion each, Gautam Adani $ 9·3 billion, Savitri Jindal and family $ 8·2 billion, Anil Agrawal $ 6 billion and Adi Godrej and family $ 5·5 billion.

Agni-1 Test-fired Successfully

Nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile Agni-1 was successfully test-fired on March 23, 2008 from the Wheeler Island, off Damra village, off the coast of Orissa.

The most important aspect of the test-firing was that it was totally executed by the army, the user of the missile. This is the second time that the Army test-fired the missile on its own.

The missile shot majestically into the sky at 10·15 a.m. from a road-mobile launcher, a huge truck, on the Integrated Test Range on the Island. It cut aparabolic path across the sky, climbed into space and dived into the Bay of Bengal, reaching a distance of 700 km. Its re-entry system worked flawlessly.

This was the fifth successful launch of Agni-1, a product of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

The launch was a fine piece of technological work integrating all the operational systems and the strategic command network. The successful test-firing of the missile has been described as a major milestone in India’s preparedness ofstrategic defence because it was operated and launched by the armed forces. All the systems worked perfectly during the flight.

According to the Chief Controller R & D (Missiles and Strategic Systems) DRDO, Agni-1, along with Agni-II and Agni-III, formed the triad of the country’s minimumand credible nuclear deterrence, which in fact is the defence aim of India. Agni-1’s success therefore constitutes a tremendous boost to strategic defence.Consequent upon the successful firing of Agni-1 on 23-3-08, the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile on March 5 and the K-15 (Sagarika) missile from a submergedpontoon on February 26, 2008 the DRDO now will set its sight on launching the Agni-III ballistic missile in April 2008.

The Agni-1 missile was developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), the premier missile development centre of the DRDO, in collaboration with itsneighbours, that is, the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), the Research Centre, Imarat, all of which form the missile complex at Hyderabad.It was integrated by the Bharat Dynamics Limited, also located in Hyderabad. The Vehicle Research and Development Establishment at Ahmednagar, Maharashtra,the ITR and public and private sector industries contributed to the launch.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Completes Record-Breaking Mission

NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour returned safely to Earth on March 26, 2008 after completing its recordbreaking 16-day mission to the International SpaceStation. The shuttles’ mission was the longest flight to the station since construction of the multinational outpostbegan. The shuttle delivered the first section of Japan’s large Kibo laboratory, an 18,500 poundstorage compartment. The main laboratory, a unit the size of bus, is scheduled to arrive in May aboard theshuttle Discovery. The Endeavour also ferried up a 12-foot, 3,400 pound Canadian Space Agency robot called Dextra, whichis to perform maintenance outside the station and help space walking astronauts. During12 days at the station, the shuttle astronauts performedfive spacewalks, a number of previously seen only during Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. The crew aboard the shuttle included Colonel GregoryJohnson, Richard, Linnehan, Michael Foreman, a Major Robert Behnken and Takao Doi (a Japanese astronaut).

About Endeavour
The space shuttle Endeavour, commonly known as OV-105 was constructed out of spare parts originally made for the Discovery and Atlantis orbiters and is thenewest addition to America’s four-orbiter fleet. It was named after the ship commanded by James Cook, the British explorer, navigator and astronomer of the 18thcentury. The space shuttle Endeavour was delivered to Kennedy Space Centre in May 1991.

Moser Baer Signs Agreement with Tamil Nadu on Photovoltaic Plant

Moser Baer, a world leader in manufacture of removable data storage media, signed in June 2008 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government ofTamil Nadu on setting up a facility to manufacture siliconbased photovoltaic thin film modules and allied products.

Moser Baer will invest over Rs. 2,000 crore in the facility that will come up in the Oragadam high technology Special Economic Zone (SEZ). It was disclosed byDeepak Puri, Chairman and Managing Director, Moser Baer India. This is the second such facility that will come up in Oragadam. In March, 2008 the Tamil Nadugovernment had signed an MoU with Signet Solar for manufacturing photovoltaic thin film modules.

With the establishment of this facility of Moser Baer, Tamil Nadu is expected to consolidate its position as the leader in the manufacture of electronic hardware andemerge as the preferred centre for the manufacture of photovoltaic thin film models.

The facility would provide livelihood to many and retain bright young people in the State. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi is very much interested in this hightechnology venture as he aims at creating a million jobs in the State in the shortest possible time. The facility is expected to be launched as early as possible. G. Rajeswaran,President and CTO, Moser Baer Photovoltaic Ltd., India said that the plant would start production within a year after the launch.

Delhi Metro Turns Out to be Most Comfortable

The Delhi Metro railway is one of the most comfortable means of public transport, according to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhiusing equipment developed in the United Kingdom.

The study used vibration levels experienced by passengers in the metro as a measure of the comfort level and compared it with international standard ISO 2631-4-1997.

According to the study, the vibration inside the train was less than 0·315 metres per second squared m/s2, which is the most comfortable level according to ISO standards.

The study titled ‘Real Time Ride Comfort’, was conducted by Sham Rane, a postgraduate mechanical engineering student of IIT Delhi. It used a device called Potentiometer,developed jointly by Loughborough University UK, and IIT, Delhi, for the first Lime in India.

A group of ten IIT students travelling on the Metro used the potentiometer and by rotation of a knob on the device they did a continuous judgement of their comfortlevel. The data regarding vibration and human responses were then recorded by a central computer and the real ride comfort was assessed.

The study was conducted on elevated and underground sections of all three operational lines of the Delhi Metro and results from all sections were within the most comfortable category. No commuter said the metro ride was uncomfortable.