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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| India angry over China-Bhutan border talks |
| 2005-08-01 |
| India is livid with anger over the Sino-Bhutan border talks that took place during the second week of July. It has caused a flutter in South Block. Hackles in the Indian military have been raised. That is why it dispatched its Director General of Military Operations, Lt Gen Madan Gopal, to Bhutan to meet the King. "Going by what has transpired it looks like Bhutan will give away some land in the Chumbi valley. Because about 500 kms down, you are in what is called the Chicken's Neck or the Siliguri corridor, a narrow stretch of land that connects the northeastern states to the rest of India. "The current bargain is for the Chumbi valley which means Indians will have a problem militarily. It appears that the Chinese will occupy large areas in the Chumbi valley" |
| Posted by:john |
| #13 ZF, the Indians stand ready to fight the Pakis, for now that's enough. We'll check the alignment again in 2025 or sooner if conditions change. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-01 22:06 |
| #12 Actually, the Germans and the French have troops in Afghanistan. And they are our treaty allies, having stuck with us throughout the Cold War ZF, you strike me as too young to remember much of the Cold War. The West Germans "stuck with us" because they were occupied by a sizable chunk of the US Army and the British Army of the Rhine and knew that the Red Army and the East Germans would come pouring through the Fulda Gap the minute we left. The French, on the other hand, actively opposed us during the Cold War. DeGaulle, beset with delusions of grandeur, withdrew from NATO and created the "Force de Frappe" as a counterweight to the US. The French have been considered a security risk since the 60's. It used to be said that what we told Paris today would be in Moscow tomorrow. Whatever else they may be, the French have not been our friends in the lifetime of anyone now living. |
| Posted by: RWV 2005-08-01 17:12 |
| #11 Also, the way France is going, in 20 years we are going to have to nuke them anyway : the Islamic Republic of Frankistan will had over nukes to Al Q and/or any other Islamofacists that ask for them. And Germany can rot in Hell as far as I am concerned. The genocidial butchers go off easy after WWII and when we even let them have Eastern Germany back, the bastards still stabbed us in the back when it came to invoking the NATO Charter after 9/11. If another major war happens in Europe, let the scum sort it out themselves - excepting Britian and the Central Europeans. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2005-08-01 17:05 |
| #10 Both the US and India have a lot of kissing and making up to do. India is still suspicious of any white man since the British rule, but fortunately, the younger generation is loosing it and seeing us more as a business partner. India is, and will become more and more valuable to us, and us to them, not only as a counter-balance to China, but as a large trading partner and security ally in an area where Islam is abundant, and hostile. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-08-01 15:30 |
| #9 its true the germans and french have troops in afganistan, and the Indians do not. But the Indians have historically supported the Northern Alliance, and supported their struggle even before 9/11. The Indians DO have troops in Kashmir, fighting terrorism. Look, we imposed sanctions on India 14 years ago - why would you expect them to love us now? |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-08-01 15:05 |
| #8 Pakistan was a natural for the west to support - it inherited the old British role of countering Russia in Afghanistan. It was thus a natural member of Cento. Note that this maneuvering had already begun BEFORE partition, when the Muslim League was relatively pro-British, vs the Indian National Congress. Once China broke with the USSR friendship for the USSR was even more natural to India. It all makes balance of power sense. Now the balance of power has changed. In particular Russia is too weak to help India offset China in a meaningful way, and Russia has flirted with China to offset American power. And China has grown in power. This make the US a more natural partner for India. Though we still have differences over Pakistan and Afghanistan. And of course its hardly surprising that India favors nominally secularist dictators in the ME - draining the swamp by spreading democracy is our idea, not theirs. But India still has alot in common with us, from fighting Islamist terrorism to containing China. Again, not a core ally, but a worthwhile relationship. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-08-01 15:02 |
| #7 SW: But even with all their faults, they are not as bad as the Germans or the French Actually, the Germans and the French have troops in Afghanistan. And they are our treaty allies, having stuck with us throughout the Cold War, even as India was sticking it to Uncle Sam. You know, of course, that the Indians supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? The Germans and the French are putting out a bunch of nonsense today, but in the final analysis, they are part of the West and India is part of the Orient. The Indians are also putting out a bunch of hooey about Uncle Sam, but you don't hear quite as much about it because the media doesn't really cover it. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-01 15:00 |
| #6 Yes, the Indians are looking out for themselves. But even with all their faults, they are not as bad as the Germans or the French; they are a democracy; they are becoming more middle class and wealthy; they are in the Asian sphere; they don't like the Chinese; and there are 600 million of them. All reasons to deal with them {don't trust them, deal with them}. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2005-08-01 14:54 |
| #5 Shipman: Good send more. No Hindu ever called me Infidel. Indians are pretty anti-American. They're not terrorists, but they're a bunch of snakes. Just look at the way the Indians stuck it to Uncle Sam throughout the Cold War. Why were we allied with Pakistan - which was not anybody's idea of a loyal ally, then or now? Because the Indians were and are duplicitous snakes. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-01 14:40 |
| #4 Good send more. No Hindu ever called me Infidel. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-01 14:16 |
| #3 LH: Other than Iraq, i wonder what we've asked of India that they havent delivered on? The list would be a far shorter one if we asked what they've actually delivered on. Apart from not delivering on Iraq. Remember - we've supplied them with firefinding radar and allowed Israel to sell anti-missile equipment to them. We are now about to hand a lot of nuclear technology to them. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-01 14:07 |
| #2 Other than Iraq, i wonder what we've asked of India that they havent delivered on? of course theyre not a core ally - doesnt mean we cant have a useful relationship with them. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-08-01 13:26 |
| #1 Whatever happened to Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai? If India is such good friends with China, why is it so worked up over boundary negotiations involving a third country? Strikes me that the Indians are striking this pose of friendship with China in order to get Washington to ante up with more gifts for India. But the problem, of course, is that whenever Uncle Sam ever needs any help from India, he will get the stiff arm from the Indians, as occurred over Iraq. I think India enjoys playing Lucy to Uncle Sam's Charlie Brown. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-01 12:33 |