India, Chindia, or an Alternative? Opportunities for American Strategic Interests in Asia
2009; Routledge; Volume: 28; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/01495930903025284
ISSN1521-0448
Autores Tópico(s)Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
ResumoAbstract There is an undeniable power surge in Asia, primarily in India and China. Speculation about a strategic joining of forces of India and China into a muscular economic alliance known as “Chindia” has been floated. Despite once being bitter enemies, the two nations have engaged in a recent détente with each other. Building upon each other's strengths helps advance this cause. However, until now the Chindia concept has appeared to be more theoretical than practical in nature because of lingering boundary issues between the nations. Such an alliance, however, cannot be summarily dismissed. This paper focuses upon how India and China partnering with the United States could form a transregional triangle that would tighten America's grip on power in the Asia-Pacific Region. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. Notes 1. See K. Mahubani, The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East (Philadelphia: Perseus Books Group, 2008) and S. Randon, “How to Approach the Elephant: Chinese Perceptions of India in the 21st Century,” in Asian Affairs: An American Review, vol. 34, no. 4 (Winter 2008): pp. 211–227. 2. G. J. Ikenberry, “China and the Rest are Only Joining the American-Built Order,” New Perspectives Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 3 (Summer 2008): 18, and G. J. Ikenberry, “Political and Legal: The Post-American World,” Foreign Affairs, vol. 87, no. 3. 3. A. M. Slaughter, “Be Wary of Asian Trimuphalism,” New Perspectives Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 3 (Summer 2008): p. 22. 4. Adam Smith's masterpiece, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations (1776), was a modern interpretation of the principles of capitalism. Since then countless economists have revisited his thoughts and made relevant his ideas for today's global societies. 5. J. N. Pieterse, “Globalization, The Next Round: Sociological Perspectives,” Futures, vol. 40, no. 8 (October 2008): p. 707. 6. T. Khanna, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How India and China are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours (New York: McGraw Hill, 2008). 7. India was a strategic platform for Britain and America during World War II, when the entry of Japan into the war made it a natural base for a “network of operations against the Japanese by land, sea and air,” in J. G. Elliott, Unfading Honor (New York: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1965). 8. For two views on this, see S. Mosher, Hegemon: China's Plan to Dominate Asia and the World (San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2001). 9. H. J. Giessmann, “Chindia and ASEAN: About National Interests, Regional Performance and Global Challenges,” in Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Briefing Papers (Berlin: Author, 2007). 10. “The Hobbled Hegemon—American Power,” The Economist, vol. 383, no. 8535 (June 30, 2007). 11. S. Montlake, “What Asia Wants from the Next U.S. President,” The Christian Science Monitor, August 8, 2008, p. 7. 12. Ibid. 13. “The Hobbled Hegemon—American Power.” 14. B. Emmott, Rivals: How the Power Struggle Between China, India and Japan Will Shape our Next Decade (Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers, 2008). 15. J. Yuan, “The Chinese Assessment of a Rising India After Pokhran II,” in Dittmer, L., ed., South Asia's Nuclear Security Dilemma (New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2005), p. 163. 16. B. Emmott, Rivals. 17. The two nations went to war in 1962. 18. Terms used by Robin Meredith, The Elephant and the Dragon (New York: W.W. Norton Publishers, 2007). 19. Renamed by China as “Aksai Chin.” 20. The Panchsheel Agreement was a collection of Five Principles aimed at peaceful co-existence between India and China in 1954, and promulgated by the Prime Minister Jawarharlal Nehru of India and Premier Zhou En Lai of China. They consisted of the following strategic directives: 1. Respect territorial integrity and sovereignty; 2. Non-aggression; 3. Non-interference in each other's internal affairs; 4. Equality and mutual benefit; 5. Peaceful co-existence. Panchsheel Agreement, 1954, signed by the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China. Indian Prime Minister Nehru and Chinese Primier Zhou Enlai together promulgated Panchsheel, a set of five principles, between 1953–54, that has since served as a model for cooperation between nations around the world. 21. R. Lal, Understanding India and China: Security Implications for the United States and the World (Westport, CN: Praeger Security International Publications, 2006). 22. In 2007 a large recall of toys from Guangdong Province (where 70 percent of Chinese toys made for export are manufactured) was instituted due to lead-contaminated surface paint. China Daily, November 28, 2007. Pet food exported from China was found to be tainted with melamine in 2007. 23. A. Bezlova, “India/China: ‘Chindia’ May Help Quell Lingering Suspicions,” InterPress Service News, January 16, 2008. 24. B. Chellaney, “Assessing India's Reactions to China's Peaceful Development Doctrine,” The National Bureau of Asian Research, vol. 18, no. 5 (April 2008): pp. 22–36. 25. B. Chellaney, “China Covets a Pearl Necklace: Dragon's Foothold in Gwadar,” Asian Age, April 7, 2007. 26. See Robyn Meredith's discussion of this in The Elephant and the Dragon; Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, New Delhi. 27. Price Waterhouse Coopers makes the prediction that in a few decades China will be the largest economy and India a close third India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) (2004–2008), pp. 180–190. 28. Meredith, The Elephant and the Dragon, pp. 180–190. 29. Ibid. pp. 199–200. 30. China was declared most favored nation (MFN) via Section 405 of the Trade Act, 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2435). Under this provision the President of the United States has authority to enter a trade agreement with nonmarket economy countries, making them eligible for most-favored-nation treatment 31. China has opposed the U.N. sanctions to Robert Mugabe's dictatorship in Zimbabwe, and failed to censure the recent political violence in Zimbabwe's widely disputed elections. She has also continued to support the xenophobic regime in the Sudan that permits human killing and other atrocities in Darfur. China does so, presumably, to not jeopardize her growing economic interests in these countries. Yet, she fails in her responsibility to the world as a self-professed global superpower when she abdicates leadership on these pressing issues. 32. B. E. Coates, “Modern India's Strategic Advantage to the United States: Her Twin Strengths in Himsa and Ahimsa,” Comparative Strategy, vol. 27, no. 2 (March–April 2008): pp. 113–147. 33. Pakistan became a neighbor to India in 1947 when the territory of India was carved up into an India and Pakistan. China became a neighbor of India in 1951 when she invaded and took over Tibet. Subsequently, in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to India and set up a Tibetan government in exile in Dharamsala. 34. There is the fundamentalist theocratic regime in Iran to the west of India with its nuclear potential. To the north Pakistan undergoes a shaky transition from military dictatorship and time will only tell whether a theocratic dictatorship emerges, as Pakistan is a well-established haven for fundamentalist Muslims and terrorists and has failed to help secure the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, who reputedly has been moving easily in and out of Pakistani territory. The July 7, 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul is attributed to terrorists from Pakistan by both India and Afghanistan. To the east of India the government of Bangladesh has recently been removed from totalitarian rule, but still enjoys a warm and close relationship with Communist China. Myanmar, another close neighbor, suppresses human freedoms with her communist dictatorship. Then to the northwest is the Maoist regime in Nepal. 35. Jing-dong Yuan, “The Chinese Assessment of a Rising India After Pokhran II.” 36. Emmott, Rivals. 37. A. Merritt, “Natural Allies in an Uncertain World,” The United States and India National Security Watch, NSW-06-4 (Arlington, VA: 2006). 38. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Remarks to the Civic Reception, “We who are free—and who prize our freedom above all other gifts of God and nature—must know each other better; trust each other more; support each other” Ram Lila Grounds, New Delhi, December 13, 1959, available at http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/speeches 39. The Joint Statement issued by President Clinton and Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee notes: “There have been times in the past when our relationship drifted without a steady course. As we now look towards the future, we are convinced that it is time to chart a new and purposeful direction in our relationship,” Hyderabad House, New Delhi, March 21, 2000, available at http://www.indianembassy.com 40. As observed by President Bush, “the rivalry has diminished, their two great democracies are united by opportunities that can lift their people, and by threats that can bring down all their progress … The U.S. and India have ambitious goals for their partnership. They have unprecedented opportunities in this world. They can look to the future with confidence because their relationship has never been better” (U.S. India Partnership, Vital Speeches of the Day, March 15, 2006). 41. In recent years, Department of Defense (DOD) and related strategic policy plans have highlighted the priority for closer bonds between the nations of India and the United States. Statements in the Quadrennial Defense Reviews (QDR) and National Security Strategy (NSS) (Ox Research, 2008) have made this vision clear. In 2007, Nicholas Burns, the Undersecretary of State, made a critical announcement concerning initiatives to achieve this vision in his statement, “America's Strategic Opportunity with India.” The Henry Hyde United States–India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006, whereby in exchange for Indian guarantees of safeguarding its civilian reactors, the U.S. provides her access to civilian nuclear technology and information. 42. As noted by Professor Jagdish Bhagwati of Columbia University, “trade is the water and a nuclear deal the fertilizer that will make this exotic plant grow,” in J. Bhagwati, “Time to Bargain: India Needs to Accommodate and Assert to Make the Most of the Mutually Beneficial Possibilities,” India Today, March 6, 2006. 43. Coates, “Modern India's Strategic Advantage to the United States.” 44. “U.S. Pops up as the Most Popular in India: Survey,” Express India, The Indian Express Online Media, (Pvt.), Ltd., June 13, 2008. 45. Ibid. 46. The word, “aryan” comes from the Sanskrit noun arya, meaning noble or a thing of character. It is a term used in other languages as well, such as in Persian with a similar meaning. With that word was identified everything good and virtuous. It still has the same meaning in the region today. Due to the misuse of the term by Adolf Hitler, and the xenophobia perpetrated by him, the West now associates the word with its opposite, or ignoble. 47. See Eisenhower quote, note 40. 48. United States & India Strategic Partnership FactSheet, February 22, 2006, available at http://merlin.ndu.edu/archivepdf/India/WH. 49. Dharma shanti, or just peace, has roots in Indian philosophy, most notably in the thoughts and sermons of Sakyamuni Gautama, who preached about the virtues compassion, loving kindness, and forgiveness. He also preached against, anger, violence, aggression, and fear. 50. “̈ Peace and freedom have become indivisible, and the world cannot continue for long partly free and partly subject. In this atomic age peace has also become a test of human survival … The preservation of peace forms the central aim of India's policy …” Excerpted from a speech by Prime Minister Nehru in Washington, DC, December 18, 1956, printed in the U.S. Department of State Bulletin, January 14, 1957, p. 4950. 51. See Coates “Modern India's Strategic Advantage to the United States.” 52. Some of the most famous edicts for just war may be found in the Bhagavad Gita (Gita), a philosophy of life stated in poetry form and set on the stage of a war. 53. See Coates “Modern India's Strategic Advantage to the United States.” 54. Also known as prakasayuddha, or battle carried out in an open manner, rather than an underhanded or secret battle. 55. Underhand methods are known as aprakasayuddha, or underhand and secret battles, surrogate battles, and guerilla tactics. 56. M. Kamdar, “India and the United States,” Forbes International, August 13, 2007. 57. Indian Americans are players in political campaigns. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Hillary Clinton's close ties with Indian Americans was brought up by Obama supporters. 58. United States Army, A Campaign Quality Army with Joint and Expeditionary Capabilities (Washington, DC: Author, 2007). 59. Emmott, Rivals. 60. G. J. Ikenberry, “China and the Rest are only Joining the American-Built Order,” and “Political and Legal: The Post-American World.” 61. J. Ballard, Globalization's Impact on the Chinese War Machine (Carlisle, PA: Strategy Research Project, United States Army War College, 2008). 62. R. Lal, Understanding India and China. 63. Y. Funabashi, “Keeping Up with Asia: America and the New Balance of Power,” Foreign Affairs vol. 87(5) (Sept/Oct. 2008): pp. 110–126. 64. S. Mosher, Hegemon: China's Plan to Dominate Asia and the World (New York: Encounter Books, 2001). 65. J. Ballard, Globalization's Impact on the Chinese War Machine. 66. G. Wehrfritz, “Second Thoughts: China's Too-Hot Economy is Prompting Firms to Look Elsewhere to Invest,” Newsweek, November 28, 2005. 67. I. Bagchi, “Worldly-Wise India is Happy Making New Friends,” Sunday Times of India, May 15, 2005.
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