THE VERY FIRST INDIAN AMERICAN THINK TANK IN WASHINGTON DC DELIBERATES ON INDO-CHINA RELATIONS

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http://www.indiawest.com/news/8305-indian-diaspora-forum-focuses-on-indo-china-relations.html

Indian Diaspora Forum Focuses on Indo-China Relations

• By A Staff Reporter


• Dec 27, 2012

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(L-r): Convenor Khanderao Kand, Glenn L. Carle and Arun Singh seen at the inauguration of the India-China-themed conference.

• United States
  India and China are closer currently to mutual cooperation “than any time in the last 50 years,” a former CIA officer said at an India-China-themed conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by theFoundation For India and Indian Diaspora Studies.
  Former CIA deputy national intelligence officer for transnational threats Glenn L. Carle said changes in mutual relations, energy needs and natural resource assets are three key factors shaping ties today between India and China.
  Political openness, corruption and a lack of economic flexibility are issues that could negatively impact relations, added Carle, author of the memoir, “The Interrogator: An Education.”
  Arun K. Singh, deputy chief of mission at the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., also spoke at the conference, “Indo-China Relations: From Conflict to Collaboration 50 Years after the 1962 War.”
  He said India and China are now entering “stage two” of a “three-stage” process. “We remain confident that India-China relations will continue to be guided by the vision of political leadership in both countries, who believe that our common interests far outweigh our differences,” he said.
  Trade between the two countries grew from $3 billion in 2000 to $74 billion in 2011. China remains India’s largest trading partner in goods, he said, noting that when goods and services are combined, the U.S. is India’s largest trading partner.
  “This conference is very timely, and is the only such conference this year in the U.S. covering multiple dimensions, namely, geo-political, economic and cultural and current Indo-China relations,” said FIIDS director and conference convener Khanderao Kand.
  The conference included two sessions on geopolitical issues.Namrata Goswami, senior research fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington D.C., spoke on a recent visa controversy involving Arunachal Pradesh, after China stapled visas to documents carried by two Indian sportsmen from the state, which China claims is part of “Southern Tibet.”
  Goswami presented multiple scenarios for possible military conflicts and emphasized that in any military action, air support will be crucial.
  Felix K. Chang, senior fellow of the Philadelphia, Pa.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, detailed how China has restructured its army for “rapid deployment.” He emphasized the importance of submarines and air carriers for potential naval attacks by China, including a foray against India on the African side of the Indian Ocean.
  Rodney Jones, president of consulting firm Policy Architects International in Reston, Va., said China, being more homogeneous in religion and culture than India, has harnessed more power. He warned about China’s nuclear superiority and said the precise delivery of missiles is high on the country’s priority list.
  Jacqueline N. Deal, president and CEO of the Long Term Strategy Group and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said India’s gap in military capabilities vis-à-vis China is wider than in 1962. On the bright side, the imbalance is rapidly being corrected due to India’s economic growth. China’s neighbors are more willing to trust India, due to border disputes with China.
  Ved P. Nanda, professor of international law at the Strum College of Law at the University of Denver, said India has increased funding to modernize its navy. India must provide a strong response to Chinese claim in the South China Sea, the Indian American said, and speak “soft, but still carry a stick.”
  Former Indian Ambassador Har Swarup Singh outlined areas where the two countries can cooperate. Steven Lewis, C.V. Starr Transnational Fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute at Rice University in Houston, Texas, showed graphs of China’s energy needs. Attention needs to be paid to restructuring of China’s politburo, he added.
  James Clad, senior advisor for Asia at the Center for Naval Analysis, cautioned that economic cooperation doesn’t guarantee national security. He warned against falling into a trap of “fated confrontation.” India should appreciate the fact that it is only in the last decade that India has appeared on China’s geopolitical radar, Clad said.
  Prof. B.N. Hebbar, who teaches Eastern religions at George Washington University, spoke on Buddhism in China. Vijay Swami, executive director of the Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditions, Cultures and Heritage in Arunachal Pradesh, presented a pictorial of villages along India’s border and cultural and religious ties with the villages on the other side of the border.
  Yashwant Pathak, associate dean for faculty affairs at the University of South Florida College of Pharmacy, endorsed India-China cultural exchanges, because they emphasize how the “Eastern” point of view differs from that of the West.