India's Nuclear Bomb and National Security by Karsten Frey

Author:Karsten Frey [Frey, Karsten]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ethnic Studies, General, Social Science, Political Science, Regional Studies, Security (National & International)
ISBN: 9781134144938
Google: HsJ9AgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 17479267
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2006-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

In sum, the Indo–Chinese rapprochement in the years from 1991 to 1996 had the opposite effect one might have expected on the view of the limited number of strategists who concerned themselves with the China factor, as the prospect of friendly relations and co-operation with China appeared to have added an element of urgency to come to terms on the nuclear question.

Redefining Sino–Indian relations after the nuclear tests

In the aftermath of India’s nuclear testing in 1998, several members of the cabinet agreed with earlier statements by Defence Minister George Fernandes that named the Chinese threat as the main cause for India’s nuclear breakthrough. China reacted with outrage to these statements.

India’s opinion leaders generally agreed to the government’s assessment of the Chinese threat, but considered such open declarations to be diplomatically clumsy. In the patriotic hype in the immediate aftermath of the tests, critique of this undiplomatic declaratory policy towards China was one of the few discordant issues among the otherwise complaisant commentary by the strategic elite. In the words of one analyst, it was a major mistake by the government:

China has been openly named as the source of our concern. If it is only a guess, better not mention it. If we have enough evidence, even then it is better not to let the enemy know what we know. By all means take firm action, but use mild language. That is the art of state-craft.

Today we have only succeeded in rousing Chinese anger, when China was trying to be friendly. We have unnecessarily queered the pitch. On the one hand, the Government has been trying to improve relations with China and on the other we are engaged in a mud-slinging match, giving the impression that one hand of the Government does not know what the other is doing. This is a repetition of 1959. We then unleashed an anti-China campaign which spread misinformation and many misconceptions about China. China has a much larger and richer diplomatic tradition. China did not say much but it acted to teach us a lesson! – and again smiled. Barking has no value, unless you can bite. If we create that ‘biting’ power, that is all for the good. But we must refrain from a ‘bark’.

(Paranjpe, The Hindu, 25 May 1998)

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