Troubles between India and China
India recently announced that it will reopen an airbase in Ladakh, the eastern portion of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India, and that it has plans for two more airbases in the same region1. It is an effort to put some muscle behind its side of the territorial disputes with China that have been heating up for the last year, although the move may upset Pakistan as well.
The other recent hotspot along the Indian-Chinese border is Sikkim2, of which China claimed a portion. India has rejected the Chinese claim, and with good reason — Sikkim is a strategically important area, as explained by an interesting report from Radio Free Europe3:
The area itself defends what can be considered the most vulnerable part of India, the narrow corridor that divides Assam from the Indian heartland, at some places less than 30 miles wide. (The corridor runs between Nepal and East Pakistan.)
The defense of Sikkim is the exclusive responsibility of the Indian army, since Sikkim itself has no army of any consequence. The border between Sikkim and India is also vulnerable, since at some sections the terrain can be considered as mild by Himilayan standards. Between Sikkim and the Tibetan valley of Chumbi the passes are easily traversed; the road between Tibet and Sikkim going over the Nathu Pass can be used by vehicles of larger size.
Despite being written in 1965, the report is well worth a read and sounds eerily familiar to today’s situation.
1 Ladakh base fresh crimp in ties with China. Times of India. June 4, 2008.
2 India rejects China’s claim over Sikkim province. Rediff India Abroad. June 4, 2008.
3 Sikkim — A Potential Danger Spot. Radio Free Europe. January 22, 1965.
Myanmar: Confusion, Fear, Anger…and Opportunism …in the wake of Cyclone Nargis
An excellent post on the Western response to the Myanmar Cyclone by China Hand.
And I remember—though I have yet to see it mentioned—that a cyclone can lead to regime change: when Pakistan’s halting response to the disastrous Bhola cyclone of 1970, which claimed as many as 500,000 lives, helped catalyze the separatist movement that gave birth to Bangla Desh.
But what I see in the western media is the cynical and lazy urge for a feel-good narrative of the noble West beating up on the detestable Burmese junta.
Article: Myanmar: Confusion, Fear, Anger…and Opportunism …in the wake of Cyclone Nargis
Author: China Hand
Publication: China Matters (blog)