GETTING TO FISSION CITY:

China raises tension in India dispute (Jo Johnson and Richard McGregor, June 10 2007, Financial Times)

India’s strengthening ties with the US are the cause of China’s increasingly aggressive position over the disputed India-China border in the eastern Himalayas, according to security affairs analysts in both countries. [...]

Analysts say China’s blunt assertion of claims to an area more than twice the size of Taiwan is inconsistent with “political parameters” for a potential settlement agreed in 2005 and could contaminate other areas of the relationship.

“This is the elephant in the room,” says Uday Bhaskar, defence analyst. “The Indians had taken the political parameters as Chinese acceptance of the status quo. But China is now sending out very different signals. We’ll have to see how far they push it.”

The US is trying hard to improve bilateral relations with India. At the centre of its effort is a nuclear energy co-operation agreement that promises to end 30 years of sanctions against a country now seen as a potential counterbalance to China.

Analysts anticipate a gradual Americanisation of the Indian military, which is expected to import hardware and software worth $30bn in the next five years, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

Any pretext will do, but enemy nations can't be allowed nuclear arsenals.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 10, 2007 5:26 PM