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India To Bolster China Border Defenses

( Photo: J.Singh Bawa/flickr)

(19 July 2013) The Hindustan Times reports that the Indian Army plans to create a 45,000-man mountain strike force along it northeast border. The strike force, to be based in West Bengal will take seven years to stand up. It will have the capability to mount incursions into the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Times says the force will be equipped with ultra-light howitzers, artillery pieces, unmanned aerial vehicles, radars and specialized mountain equipment.

The news comes after a three-week standoff in April this year in which a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) platoon-sized unit occupied disputed territory in the Ladakh region. The standoff was settled peacefully with both sides withdrawing, but clearly showed China’s advantage in the region, particularly in the area of infrastructure allowing rapid troop deployment.

Earlier this month, India’s Defense Minister, Mr. A.K. Antony paid a visit to China from July 4-7 at the invitation of China’s Defense Minister, Gen. Chang Wanquan. A joint statement issued by both parties to the meeting stressed the need for cooperation and the exchange of military personnel.

DPRK-ROK Talks Deadlock on Kaesong Zone

Meetings between the DPRK and ROK this month concerning re-opening the Kaesong economic complex ended without agreement. The Kaesong complex, 10km inside North Korea hosts 120 South Korean companies and employs 53,000 North Korean workers. Operations were suspended in April 2013 when cross-border tensions rose to a new high. In this latest round of meetings the only agreement was to hold further talks. So what will happen? Will Kaesong re-open any time soon? How does Kaesong figure in to the DPRK’s overall strategy? If this situation were seen from the perspective of a game of chess or Wei Qi (Igo), what would the next moves be? Post your thoughts here.

China-U.S. Meeting Ends on Positive Note

(Photo: U.S. Dept. of State)

The fifth round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialog (S&ED) concluded this week in Washington D.C. The meeting which, has been held annually since 2009, ran from July 10-11. This year’s get-together could be seen as a follow-up to the Obama-Xi summit held last month in California.

The S&ED has a two-tract structure. This year the Economic Track was co-chaired by China’s Vice Premier Wang Yang, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. The Strategic Track was co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

A wide range of issues were discussed including:

Cyber security
Asia-Pacific cooperation
Climate change
Energy security
Economic cooperation
Iran
De-necularization of the Korean peninsula

The People’s Daily (China) reported on July 12 that Chinese concerns included access for Chinese investors to the U.S. market and less restrictions on hi-tech exports to China. Progress was also reported being made toward the formation of a Bi-Lateral Investment Treaty, (BIT) that would see greater U.S. access to the China market.