The president of the Tibetan government in exile in Dharamsala has trashed China's claims over Indian territory, citing the 1914 Simla Agreement that defines the border between India and Tibet to which Tibetans were signatories. "Tibetans are happy with that," he says. Excerpts from an interview:
Q/ China’s military drills in the Taiwan Strait have spurred concerns about a potential armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.
A/ Some years ago, when China announced air defence identification zones, I told our American friends that if the Chinese can claim the air they will claim anything underneath that. This is exactly what is happening, and it is not just the endeavour of reunification or invasion of Taiwan. Look at the whole of South China Sea or East China Sea, alongside Japan and Taiwan. China is giving Chinese names to all these territories. This is to redefine history, remove the historical background and claim these territories as its own. Though China denies territorial hegemonic ambitions, the world knows better.
But I tell the Taiwanese that China is not ready to attack them yet. Xi Jinping keeps moving the generals and commanders from one place to another in a very short period of time. There is no time for the generals to build relations with cadres. A general and the second-in-command do not trust each other. Then there are political commissars who oversee their work and they also do not trust each other. It is good for Xi to ensure that there is no military coup against him, but it is not enough to fight a war. You need synchronisation among the cadres and also between the different arms of the military.
China is the only country that spends more money on internal security than external security threats, which demonstrates the deep distrust between the rulers and the ruled.
Denne historien er fra June 23, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 23, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Chase For The Mace
The next three years throw up a gamut of challenges for Indian cricket; winning the World Test Championship is the most important
Two-horse race
Can the NC-Congress alliance reshape the future of Jammu and Kashmir?
Man-eaters don't spare women
Critics say Narendra Modi’s decade-long rule has been one of jobless growth. Factories produced more, companies earned more, owners profited more, the government earned more; but fewer hands were hired, or those who were hired got work for fewer days. Putting the last two together, economists said the Indian economy generated fewer ‘man-days’.
Decolonising the mindset
The vision of a Viksit Bharat hinges on India T breaking from the shackles of a colonial mindset and embodying the freedom of being unapologetically Indian. The laws of any nation are the cornerstone of its growth. The legal system offers the stability and adaptability essential for a country to thrive. The laws must be simple to understand and specific in their consequence.
The making of India's Mr Difficult Words
When my publishers at Aleph invited me to put together a book on words and language, I hesitated for a brief moment.
Couture's creepy corridors
If one is spending a summer in New York, any summer in New York, an absolute must-do is to spend an afternoon at the city’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the edge of Central Park, just gawking in gobsmacked awe at the annual fashion exhibition the museum’s Costume Institute puts together.
Stree 2 has given us hope
The unprecedented success of Stree 2 is the best news we have had in the recent times and with an unabashedly feminist agenda, has comprehensively out-performed Sandeep Reddy Vanga's toxic masculine star-studded Animal at the box office is (to me, at least) kind of the cinematic equivalent of Awadhesh Prasad winning Ayodhya-it redeems my faith in the inherent decency of Indians.
BRANDS BEYOND RAMPS
Whether through carpets, fragrances or home interiors, Indian couturiers are defying their own limits
RESERVOIR OF WORRIES
India has a robust dam management systém on paper, but inadequate maintenance and climate change pose serious threats
INTER-STATE ISSUES HAVE NO EFFECT ON DAM SAFETY
INTERVIEW: KUSHVINDER VOHRA INTERVIEW Chairman, Central Water Commission
