Chanakya Dialogues — interview re: India’s China policy by Major Gaurav Arya

Posted on December 31, 2020 by Bharat Karnad

Dec 31, 2020, Chanakya Dialogue on India’s China policy conducted by Major (Retd) Gaurav Arya.

About Bharat Karnad

Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, he was Member of the (1st) National Security Advisory Board and the Nuclear Doctrine-drafting Group, and author, among other books of, 'Nuclear Weapons and Indian Security: The Realist Foundations of Strategy', 'India's Nuclear Policy' and most recently, 'Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)'. Educated at the University of California (undergrad and grad), he was Visiting Scholar at Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies, and Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, DC.

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14 Responses to Chanakya Dialogues — interview re: India’s China policy by Major Gaurav Arya

Kunal Singh says:

December 31, 2020 at 2:52 pm

* Gaurav Arya

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- Bharat Karnad says:
  
  December 31, 2020 at 2:53 pm
  
  Sorry, my bad! Corrected. Thanks.
  
  Reply
Arindam Bora says:

December 31, 2020 at 7:34 pm

Sir, we often here that in the case of any conflict the first wave of Chinese attack will be in the cyber domain or as the PLA calls it, Integrated network Electronic Warfare (cyber+ electronic). They will seek to degrade the Indian military’s warfighting capabilities by disrupting/destroying it’s command and control system right from the political leadership to the HQs to the field formations and also seek to isolate fighting formation from one another. How much of that presumed PLA capability is currently in the non-kinetic domain and how much in the kinetic domain (missile attacks)? Is there, as is often reported, the real possibility of a quantum jump in the non-kinetic capabilities of the PLA in the next decade or so? Where does India stand in this regard? I mean not just study groups but real capabilities on the ground and their integration into the Armed Forces. Is there a chance that in the case of a conflict China shall also target the civilian infrastructure (electricity grids, telecom, government networks etc.) of India via. cyber offensives?

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- Bharat Karnad says:
  
  December 31, 2020 at 8:21 pm
  
  China’s and PLA’s military edge is mostly at the non-kinetic end. The advanced Chinese military applications in quantum computing and data fusion across domains combined with enhanced offensive cyber capability are their calling cards. In comparison, realistically, India is not even in the picture.
  
  Reply
  - Arindam Bora says:
    
    December 31, 2020 at 8:58 pm
    
    Sir I was under the impression that quantum computing and communication technology is still at the experimental stage? Are you saying that they the PLA has already test-bedded it ? If yes then how long before the PLA field formations are ready to wage war equipped with those capabilities (Quantum, AI, non-kinetic ASAT)? As far as India is concerned sir, our technological backwardness compared to China is also to blame for the state of affairs. Is the top and mid-level military leadership riding the technology curve as far as the theoretical foundation of future combat goes or are they still in the industrial age? What are your thoughts on the recent study ‘Wellington Experience’ by an US Army Officer.
  - Bharat Karnad says:
    
    January 1, 2021 at 1:49 pm
    
    Per news reports, China launched a “quantum communications satellite” this past summer. See, for instance, https://www.space.com/quantum-communication-major-leap-satellite-experiment.html
Amit says:

December 31, 2020 at 8:14 pm

What a difference a video discussion can do to communicate ideas! Fantastic discussion! Agree with all your points – Tibet, Taiwan, counter occupation of Chinese territory, nuclear and military assistance and governance reform! India, when will you wake up!

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Gaurav Tyagi says:

January 1, 2021 at 3:04 pm

Respected Mr. Karnad, wishing you a very happy, healthy & prosperous 2021.

You made excellent points. I also say that India should initiate full fledged diplomatic relations with Taiwan besides aggressively taking up Tibetan independence issue at every global forum.

The Chinese have read Modi inside out. It’s said that too much familiarity breeds contempt. They know that Modi isn’t capable of taking any hard actions against China.

The Indian Prime Minister is a primary school drop-out with no educational background. His whole world view revolves around the “Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan” concept taught in useless RSS shakhas.

The Indian government is primarily run by a few bureaucrats at the PMO. There are high chances of these bureaucrats being on Chinese payroll, that’s why they maintain a passive posture regarding China.

The Indian NSA keeps pseudo nationalists happy by indulging in fixed matches (co-operative terrorism) with Pakistan. It’s enough for Modi and BJP to win elections. They neither have the capacity nor the will to counter China.

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- SHANAL SHEKHAR says:
  
  January 6, 2021 at 10:37 am
  
  Do you know Pavneet Singh? He is Vajiram and Ravi and a former intelligence guy.
  
  Reply
  - Bharat Karnad says:
    
    January 6, 2021 at 6:26 pm
    
    No.
- SHANAL SHEKHAR says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 11:46 am
  
  @GauravTyagi Why I ask this is because he has similar POV on Pulwama and Balakot. These are stark similarities.
  
  Reply
  - Gaurav Tyagi says:
    
    January 11, 2021 at 5:22 pm
    
    I don’t know him but checked his quora page. He has coined a nice phrase “co-operative” terrorism.
    
    Doval’s whole profile is highly suspicious and open to questioning.
    
    A senior IPS officer will never spend a long period of 7 years in a hostile country as an undercover agent. There are ordinary people with good cover, who are recruited for such tasks.
    
    Doval since his retirement from government services was associated with a RSS affiliated organization. He made a ‘think tank’ division of it.
    
    At present, one of his son is involved in hedge fund business operating out of Cayman Islands.
    
    The place is a renowned money laundering center. The guy is basically converting huge amounts of black money generated by Indian politicians and bureaucrats into white. The funds are then coming back from Cayman Islands into India as FDI.
    
    The other son is running the most influential ‘think tank’ in India from Delhi. There are ‘too many conflict of interests’ with this NSA of India.
Sankar says:

January 1, 2021 at 6:41 pm

Raising the Tibetan card by Professor Karnad is excellent. To my knowledge, modern India inherited a security treaty(?) with Tibet as the successor of British India. And Delhi reneged on it when Lhasa pleaded for help as PLA invaded in 1949! Landlocked Tibet was until then in the category of a sovereign state but Nehru played with the words of “sovereignty” and “suzerainty” although no one knows what is the difference politically. The Tibetan language is of Indic origin which testifies that it could not have been a part of China in history. Modi has cowed down to China in his policy and has made Dalai Lama virtually persona non grata in India. This has been a very retrograde step for the Indian State.

I have however strong reservations about the English wording used in this interview as it seems to be damaging for India in the international setting. For example, saying “occupying” territory beyond LAC on the Chinese side is highly objectionable and makes India the aggressor. That territory is India’s “sovereign landmass” as belonging to Maharajah’s erstwhile J&K! The right wording would be “recovering” or “regaining” (or some other characterization) our sovereign territory “occupied” by PLA. In fact, a retd Lt Gen has already complained somewhere that while India uses “LAC”, China calls it “border” of their state. Another example would be, laborers from Bihar in other states are called “migrants” in the Indian media. That is wrong outright – they are interstate workers, not migrants. Migrant implies something else.

I hold the view that in this context of international power domination one must use the right words to stand up for your case. In Indian news the presenter refers to Ladakh and other areas under Chinese control as “India’s traditional land” which does not mean anything. They need to correct it by saying “India’s sovereign territory”. Otherwise, India’s case is lost to international view.

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Avatar says:

January 8, 2021 at 12:46 pm

Indian NRIs are coolies so they act like coolies.
India itself gives importance to superficial Indian looks.
That is why the traitorous Khalistani types in the US and Canada are hailed as achievers.
Real pro-India types are on the sidelines. How many times do you hear in Indian media of Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard?

https://sputniknews.com/world/201909171076821066-we-are-not-your-prostitutes-tulsi-gabbard-launches-tirade-on-trump-over-saudi-arabia-statements/

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