Casting a wall of copper and steel on India's frontier

New missiles being tested in Xinjiang

The Chinese Defence Minister, General Chang Wanquan visited the Xinjiang Military District dealing with the Aksai Chin area and India's border in Ladakh.
According to Xinhua, the Minister "called for a strengthened border and national defense in northwest China's Xinjiang."
He spent an entire week on an 'inspection tour' of the region.
Can you imagine AK Antony spending a week in Arunachal and visiting the forward posts?
One can always argue that it is impossible, he would have to walk too much, as India has no road there.
General Chang took the time to visit military units "to further consolidate border defense and cast a wall of copper and steel in the frontier."
What does it mean for India?
Just that China will be ready to any eventuality and the PLA will maintain its pro-active posture in the area.
The Defence Minister told the military units "to lay a solid basis for Xinjiang's long-term peace and stability by consolidating political power in grassroots governments and stepping up the fight against encroachment, separatist and terrorist activities."
Apart from the border with India, the Xinjiang Military District has to deal with the restive local Uyghurs who are resentful of the 'ethnic' policies imposed by Beijing.

Wang explained to the Chinese troops that "Xinjiang's stability was of great significance to safeguarding national unity, state security and the country's social stability."
Regarding the border with India, Xinhua reported: "Military units were told to put border and national defense into prominent place and contribute to the consolidation of the defense in China's borders."
And of course, the usual standing order, the PLA is "required to operate under the instructions of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping".
Is the PLA sometime not listening to Chairman Xi? Not impossible!
Interestingly, General Wang asked the local commanders to take 'initiatives in operations'. It is quite ominous for India; but nobody seems to be worried on this side of the border; nobody is even probably aware.
Xinhua said: "The minister demanded military officers to strengthen strategic thinking, carry forward construction projects as well as take initiatives (in operations)."
One wishes the local Indian commanders would sometimes have the same opportunity to 'take initiatives'.
In the meantime, the Indian press reported that India and China are expected to sign Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-day visit to China starting from October 22.
Apparently, the Cabinet Committee on Security will today discuss the border pact, whose objective is "to prevent face-offs between the troops of the two countries along the over 4,000 km disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC)."
Will it really prevent anything?  Probably not.

Intrusions by China

One last article, Intrusions by China which appeared in The Statesman last week.

The time has come for the Indian Government to publish a White Paper and tell the Indian public what is going on. Nehru used to regularly issue White Papers (15  were published between 1959 and 1965).  Why  does  the  present government not do the same? In any case, it would be wise before some babus lose the relevant files.

Click here to read...

Getting closer, but not close enough still

Gen. Denis Mercier, French Air Chief
in front of a Rafale at Bangalore Aeroshow

My article Getting closer, but not close enough still appeared today in the Edit Page of The Pioneer.


Here is the link...

Only when more joint collaborations in the area of defence take place between India and France and the Rafale deal is signed, can the partnership between the two countries become a true companionship...

There was no scoop.
As Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Defence Minister arrived in Delhi for his second visit to India in 5 months, the Indian press speculated about the signature of the mega deal (over Rs 50,000 crore) for the supply of 126 French Rafale combat aircrafts to the Indian Air Force. It was not to be.
According to the Joint Statement, A.K. Antony and Le Drian had detailed discussions “on the current and future cooperation in the areas of defence equipment and technology collaboration”.
A French defence expert wrote on his blog: “Le Drian went to India to present the new White Paper on defence. [He is here] to sell Rafales? Everybody thought about it, but is not ‘official’; it is not the object of the visit. As a proof, the direction of Dassault is not on the trip: to each one, one’s job; though purchasing a fighter plane is fundamentally a political decision!”
Addressing India’s strategic elite at the IDSA, the French Minister clarified: “India has made the best choice. Obviously, I can’t say otherwise, but India’s will not regret it.” Explaining that many Indian companies will benefit from the offsets which are part of the contract, the minister added: “The aircraft will be given all the upgrades that technological progress will permit over the course of years”.
A long way has been walked since France ‘surrendered’ what the Minister prosaically called ‘French trading posts’ in India (i.e. French colonies) in a rather smooth way in 1954 (Le Drian nevertheless paid homage to the Pondicherians who fought and laid down their lives during the two World Wars).
India has also gone a long way since the days of its (in)famous non-alignment. Remember when General de Gaulle received Nehru in Paris on September 22, 1962, the Indian Prime minister mentioned the danger coming from China “which spent most of its resources for preparing the bomb”, but he did not ask the French President for help; India was ‘non-aligned’!
A month later, after the Chinese had inflicted on India its worst humiliation and Delhi had started begging Washington for material support, Ali Javar Jung, the Indian Ambassador to France met the General again, who conveyed what would be French core position for several decades: “France is the friend of India, not its ally, and therefore will not provide any military support which in any case, has not been requested by India.”
It is only in January 1998, during President Chirac’s visit to India, that the friendship took a new and deeper turn; India and France then set up a strategic partnership. The French President asserted that he was keen on an ‘ambitious partnership’; using a de Gaulle-like language, Chirac saluted India, “a nation which has affirmed its personality on the world stage. …France wanted to accompany India in its potent march towards the future.”
Chirac’s words were not mere political niceties. When India conducted its nuclear tests in Pokhran in May, France was one of the few countries which did not condemn Delhi (or impose sanctions). When Vajpayee paid a visit to France in October later that year, the Indian Prime Minister affirmed: “Both countries share a perspective that the new world order has to be a genuine multi-polar world order. Our bilateral relationship is poised to grow in the coming months in a multi-faceted manner.”
This set in motion closer and deeper contacts between the two countries. From the friendship mentioned by de Gaulle, the relation became a partnership.
At IDSA, the French Minister reflected on the exceptional trust between India and France: “fifteen years – that’s still adolescence. All indicators point to the Indo-French partnership growing further – in scope, in maturity, and in strength.”
Le Drian pointed out: “We share the same political vision. We share numerous common values: democracy, the rule of law, individual freedom, respect of fundamental rights and human rights. We are deeply attached to our national sovereignty and our strategic autonomy.”
Though the French Minister spoke about the French White Paper on Defence, he did not go into the nitty-gritty, particularly in the extremely difficult economic circumstances surrounding la Loi de Programmation militaire, in other words, the Defence Budget which will be ‘frozen’ for 3 years at today’s level (31.4 billion Euros per year). A slight increase is programmed for 2017-2019, “if the conditions permit”.
Between now and 2019, the White Paper mentions the suppression of 34,000 jobs in the French Defence establishment which employs 280.000 persons.
The White Paper defines France strategic choice, and most preeminently nuclear deterrence, which will not be directly touched by the ‘cuts’: “Two imperatives of sovereignty had to be reconciled: our strategic autonomy and our financial sovereignty,” explained Le Drian in Delhi. He asserted: “The framework of our action has a name: strategic autonomy. This is a permanent goal, which, in fact, we share with India.”
A new priority has recently emerged: cyber defence. Le Drian admitted: “We are endowing ourselves with technical intelligence capabilities in this field to identify the source of the attacks, assess the offensive capacities of the potential adversaries, and be capable of countering them.”
France, like India was slow to realize that cyberwar may be tomorrow’s war and that China and the United States are far in advance in this field. It however opens the door to new possible collaborations between France and India, “…cyberspace is now a full-fledged battleground. Information is methodically collected to make large-scale attacks possible in a situation of conflict. Attacks could paralyse entire sectors of a country’s activity or economy and lead to a disaster”, warned Le Drian.
‘Classical’ weapons were also discussed by the French Minister particularly the construction of six Scorpene submarines at the Mazagaon Docks shipyard in Mumbai, undertaken by the DCNS, a French company. Le Drian remarked: “In the near future, in MDL, India will possess a performing asset for eventually building additional submarines.”
Then the ‘refitting’ of 51 Mirage 2000 that India acquired under President Mitterrand in the 1980’s; on the second day of his visit, the Minister visited the Air Force Station in Gwalior where the upgrading is under process.
A let down was the Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) project between DRDO and MBDA of France. For months, we were told that it was ‘like done’, but South Block keeps delaying the signature for one reason or another (or for no reasons).
Though both countries have agreed to ‘marshal their energies and talents to build a new missile’, an over-cautious MoD (and the broke MoF) seems to be taking its own sweet time.
Only if this type of joint collaborations takes place (and the Rafale deal signed), can the partnership become a true companionship.

About Indian outings in China

Gen. Fan Changlong with Thai PM, Yingluck Shinawatra

General Fan Changlong is the most powerful general in China today. He is far senior to the Defense Minister, General Chang Wanquan.
Whenever foreign dignitaries visit China, they call on General Fan.
The latest example is the Thai Prime Minister, Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra. She met with Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. It was reported that China and Thailand agreed "to further strengthen military relations".
Yingluck Shinawatra asserted that the armed forces of the two countries have made substantial achievements in their cooperation in various fields through frequent high-level visits and continuous friendly exchanges.
She also expressed her appreciation over the active roles China has been playing in international and regional issues.
Fan answered by hailing “the long-standing neighborly friendship between China and Thailand, which is boosted by their geographical proximity, cultural similarities and close kinship”, adding “China is willing to join hands with Thailand to deepen the friendly cooperation between their military forces and contribute to regional peace and prosperity.”
That is the usual thing.
But when AK Antony, the Indian Defence Minister visited Beijing, General Fan had gone out of town. He was visiting the Indian front (Xinjiang Military District); the pretext was the restiveness of Xinjiang. He wanted to discuss the measures to reestablish ‘stability’ in the region, but also to get the latest news about the Indian border (or LAC).
Xinhua reported that General Fan was accompanied by General Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the PLA, General Du Jincai, deputy director of the General Political Department (GPD) of the PLA and a member of the all-powerful Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Liu Zheng, deputy director of the General Logistics Department (GLD) of the PLA, General Liu Yuejun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region and Wang Jianping, commander of the Peoples' Armed Police accompanied General Fan.
Once again, let us not forget that the Ladakh front (DBO, Demchok, Chumar, etc.) falls under the Xinjiang Military District.
Why having fixed a date for Antony’s trip when his main interlocutor was on ‘inspection tour’?

General Fan Changlong

Only the babus of South Block can answer this question.
Did they forget to do their homework or did General Fan deliberately skip the visit of the Indian Defence Minister?
He had probably nothing to offer or benefit from Antony’s visit.
The consolation prize for Antony was a short darshan of Premier Li Keqiang, but Li has nothing to do with defence.
Speaking about important visits, very few in India have noted the trip to Beijing of Gaurav Shumsher J.B. Rana, the chief of staff of the Nepalese Armed Forces,.
General Rana met General Xu Qiliang, an Air Force officer who is the second most powerful general in the Chinese defence set-up. Like General Fan, General Xu is vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Xu Qiliang told Rana that China and Nepal are traditional friendly neighbors, and that the bilateral relations “have stood the test of both vicissitudes of the world and the changes of respective domestic situations and have always been advancing healthily and steadily.”
He added: “The Chinese and Nepalese militaries are supposed to constantly deepen friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation in various fields, so as to make contributions to promoting further development of the relations between the two countries.”
Rana said that "Nepal attaches great importance to developing its relations with China, unswervingly adhere to the one-China policy and will never allow any force to take advantage of the Nepalese territory to engage in anti-China activities. The Nepalese military regards the Chinese military as a reliable friend and hopes to further promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields".
Again regarding official visits, The Times of India mentioned that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is looking at a November visit to China "with both governments keen to showcase it as a unique occasion where two premiers would be visiting each other within a calendar year.”
It is not factually correct because Premier Zhou Enlai came to India in December 1956, early January and end January 1957. Three official visits in two months, never seen before (or after) in diplomatic annals.
Zhou, probably anxious about the possibility of the Dalai Lama striking a deal with the Indian Prime Minister, repeatedly visited Delhi.
He had several meetings with the Dalai Lama; the latter recalled one of those held in the Chinese embassy in Delhi: “I was having a frank discussion with Chou [Zhou]. He told me that the situation in Tibet had deteriorated, indicating that the Chinese authorities were ready to use force to crush any popular uprising.”
The Dalai Lama ‘bluntly’ replied that the Chinese were “forcing unwanted reforms, despite explicit reassurances that they would do no such thing”. The Dalai Lama said that the clever Foreign Minister (and Premier) used his charm and promised that the words of Chairman Mao who had announced that “no reform should be introduced in Tibet for at least the next six years” would be implemented. Generously, he even added that it could be postponed for ‘fifty years, if necessary’.
The Dalai Lama was not convinced; then Zhou Enlai asked him not to go to Kalimpong where he was scheduled to give Buddhist teachings to the local population.
When the Dalai Lama next met Nehru, the Prime Minister made it clear that that he had to return to Tibet and work with the Chinese on the basis of the 17-Point Agreement. “There is no alternative,” said Nehru, “India could be of no assistance to Tibet”. He even added that he should obey Zhou and return to Tibet without stopping in Kalimpong.
However, after the Dalai Lama had explained the purpose of the stop, he suddenly changed his mind and said: “India is a free country after all. You would not be breaking any of her laws.” And eventually Nehru made all the arrangements for the Dalai Lama’s visit to Kalimpong.
After the Dalai Lama’s return to Lhasa nothing changed in Tibet. On the contrary the pressure increased, especially after the revolt of the Khampas in Eastern Tibet.
The morale of the story is that, it is only when the Chinese can benefit from theses repeated visits, that they agree to it, and if Indians leaders insist to visit China, they are neglected.
As for Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Beijing, it will probably be as fruitful as AK Antony’; in other words, a nice outing.

The Chinese atsaras

AK Antony and State Councilor Yang Jiechi

Have you heard of ‘atsaras’? They are important characters in the Tibetan monastic dance, the Cham. The traditional esoteric dance of Tibet is a sort of initiation for ordinary folks to the highest mysteries of Mahayana Buddhism. Lay spectators and monks assemble once in a year to witness the battle between good and evil.
As the drama reaches its climax and the fate of the heroes can tilt one way or another, a ‘fool’ arrives on the stage, uttering outrageous views, shocking the public, sometime making the public cry, sometime laugh; the clownish appearance of the atsaras reminds the spectators of the relativity of ‘life and death’ and even ‘liberation’.
The Chinese political version of the ‘atsara’ is best enacted by the periodic appearance on the scene of well-trained ‘generals’, who not really important actors in the play, but remind us of the relativity of ‘peace and war’.
Such ‘joker’ is Major General Luo Yuan. He plays an important role when the Chinese government needs to divert attention from its own mistakes or shortcomings or when it needs “to frighten the monkeys by threatening the chickens”.
A website on the South China Sea dispute explains that the prominence of  Luo Yuan “in the media is very much a result of consensus at the top of both the military and the Party that it is beneficial to have a hardline attack dog. The logic is strong: official-ish voices, those of like Luo and other hawkish paramilitary figures such as Major-General Zhang Zhaozhong of National Defense University, add a layer of unpredictability to Chinese foreign policy, à la North Korea’s antics.”
As Defence Minister AK Antony was landing in Beijing, ‘atsara’ Luo Yuan warned Delhi that it should be careful with its words and deeds. Luo threatened: “India is the only country in the world enhancing its military prowess while citing China as a threat perception.” He thundered: “India should not provoke new problems, increase military deployment at the border areas and stir up new problems.”
General Luo, who serves in the Department of World Military Research in the PLA’s Academy of Military Sciences reminded the Indian public: “90,000 square kilometres of Chinese territory are still occupied by the Indian side.”
Adding that as a military person, it was his ‘sacred mission’ to protect China's territorial sovereignty.
Luo Yuan’s utterances were a great media success in India in the sense that each and every newspaper or TV channel reported his ‘threat’. He had won the battle to destabilize India’s mild defence minister; and made sure that Antony does not ask too many questions about what happened in the Depsang Plain in Ladakh in April and why the PLA had suddenly decided to set up some tents on Indian territory. Obviously Beijing was embarrassed by its own non-respect of the bilateral border mechanisms in place since 1993.
The ‘joker’ had played his role on the stage, the main characters can continue on a peace-footing.
In February, Luo Yuan had made his debut on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter. The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun said that Luo started ‘a big blitz and an ensuing war-in-words, just a true military should do.”
Luo had written that if a conflict erupts, China “Will Bomb Tokyo and take the 130 thousand Japanese citizens in China as hostages.”
Feng Wei, a Chinese scholar at Fudan University and Japan expert commented: “China is large—nothing is too bizarre. It’s not inconceivable that lunatics like Luo Yuan and Dai Xu [a PLA Air Force Colonel known for his militarism] would appear. But even the most extremist, rightist, anti-China military personnel in Japan would not make crazy statements like ‘Bomb Beijing’ that would astonish the entire world.”
General Luo immediately answered Feng and continued his tirade to entertain his ‘audience’.
The blog of the South China Sea dispute explained: “the CCP is so confident of its control of domestic nationalist opinion that it doesn’t feel like it’s playing with fire at all when it allows mass outpourings of support for Luo and criticism of the policy status quo online.”
After his first meetings in Beijing, AK Antony brushed aside Luo’s statement: “My discussions were with the official people." The Times of India pointed out: “Antony's response suggested the Chinese leadership may have distanced themselves from Maj Gen Luo's comments”.
Obviously, the entry of the ‘atsara’ on the stage was only part of the script.
The recent Chinese incursion at Depsang was being discussed in detail, assured the Indian Defence Minister; he was at his vague best. He added that he was satisfied with his discussions with the Chinese leadership. "The [Chinese] PM again reiterated that the new leadership in China gives much importance to strengthening and expanding the relations with India.” Great play on stage!
Perhaps more important but unnoticed by the Indian media, Beijing announced that Tibet has a new Military Area Commander.
Major General Xu Yong, born in 1959 in Shaanxi province took over from Lt. Gen. Yang Jinshan, a member of the powerful Party’s Central Committee.
Xu Yong’s fame came when he directed the rescue operations after the 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan (Sichuan). In the aftermath of the earthquake, 69,197 people were confirmed dead and 374,176 injured, while 18,222 listed were as missing.
His predecessor in Tibet has been promoted as a Deputy Commander of the strategic Chengdu Military Region (MR). He will probably oversee the Indian border.
Lt General Li Zuocheng, former Deputy Commander of Chengdu MR replaces Lt. Gen. Li Shiming who was commanding the MR since September 2007.
Interestingly, the Tibet Military Area (or District) has also a new Political Commissar, Maj. Gen. Diao Guoxin who for many years has been posted in Chengdu MR and is therefore familiar with the Indian border.
These are the people to watch carefully in the months to come, as they are the ‘real’ generals dealing with the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.
By the way, what was the purpose of visit to China of Mr. Antony so soon after the trip of Shivshankar Menon. the Special Representative on border issue?

China disarming India without fighting

My article China disarming India without fighting
appeared in NitiCentral.com.

More than 2,000 years back, Sun Tzu, the author of the Art of War wrote, “For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill; to subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
If I was a Chinese general and keen to defeat India without combating, do you know what I would do?
I would provide ‘proofs’ that foreign arms dealers have corrupted some Indian officials or politicians by paying hefty ‘commissions’. I would repeat this for each and every armament deal.
The result would be terrific. The Indian Ministry of Defence would immediately cancel all the deals, no more arms for the three Indian services! It would be rather easy to realise. One just has to ‘inform’ the Indian Government that something has gone wrong in the procurement process, and ‘someone’ has taken money.
So easy to do and easy to believe! The reverse would be unbelievable.
A few days ago, a US company, Mandiant, identified the People’s Liberation Army’s Shanghai-based unit 61398 as the organisation behind most computer attacks against the United States. Through Unit 61398, I would leak some ‘details’ about the bribes to the MoD or better, to a gullible ‘breaking news’ channel.
Mandiant’s detailed 60-page study tracked individuals of a sophisticated hacking group, known in the United States as ‘Comment Crew’. The report said, “The activity we have directly observed likely represents only a small fraction of the cyber espionage that APT1 has conducted.” APT1 stands for ‘Advanced Persistent Threat’, the most dominant being termed APT1.
The report continues, “We have analysed the group’s intrusions against nearly 150 victims over seven years. We uncovered (in Shanghai) a substantial amount of APT1’s attack infrastructure, command and control, and modus operandi (tools, tactics, and procedures) Our research found that People’s Liberation Army (PLA’s) Unit 61398 is similar to APT1 in its mission, capabilities, and resources.”
Further, it was discovered that PLA Unit 61398 is located exactly in the place from which APT1 activity originates.
As a Chinese general, I would have the perfect tool to win the war. Let us take an example, the latest scam or Choppergate.
In 2010, the Government signed a Rs 4,000 crore contract for procurement of 12 AW101 helicopters from the Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland for the use of Indian VVIPs. Three of the 12 helicopters ordered have already been delivered (and an advance of 40 per cent has been paid).
Citing an ‘integrity clause’, Defence Minister AK Antony immediately announced that the contract will be cancelled and a show-cause notice was sent to the company to this effect.
Defence expert, Ajai Shukla commented in Business Standard, “Defence Minister AK Antony’s ‘strong action’ against Italian defence giant Finmeccanica, and its Anglo-Italian helicopter subsidiary, AgustaWestland, is aimed at making him sound like a man of steel.”
Now, Antony has no proof of any offence as yet, as the Italian prosecutors in Milan have refused to share incriminating documents with India. This is logical as the trial has not yet started, but it does not matter as, in India, loud voices have started asking for a ban. One commentator even suggested cancelling the deal for 126 Rafales because the fighter planes of Dassault Aviation were armed with missiles manufactured by the European company MBDA, of which Finmeccanica is a minority shareholder.
The rule, say the babus, is when a defence firm, Indian or foreign, comes under a corruption cloud, not only are all its contracts, present and the future, cancelled, but the entire group of companies are blacklisted and they can’t work in India for a minimum of 10 years.
According to this thinking, Dassault would be banned because Rafale may use weapons made by MBDA; the French firm being owned by BAE (37.5 per cent) and EADS (37.5 per cent). The Rafale’s rival Eurofighter would also be banned as Finmeccanica is part of the Eurofighter GMBH consortium, etc, etc, etc.
At the end, I, the Chinese general will effortlessly win the war, because India will not get a single piece of armament required for its defence and this, for the next one or two decades. I would merely have to leak some credible information into a few Indian computers.
Some will say, “It is a good thing; we shall now indigenise the defence production.” Faster said than done, the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft has been on the HAL drawing table for the past decades. Air Chief NAK Browne recently declared, “By my estimate the Initial Operational Clearance should be by the end of 2013 and the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) should take another year-and-half more.” Ditto for many DRDO projects.
So, as a Chinese general, I would used Unit 61398 or any other ‘research labs’ to pass on to South Block the information that there is something ‘fishy’ in each and every armament deal and the trick will be done.
The next day, the MoD will ‘cancel’ the deal using the ‘termination clause’.
I would subdue my enemy without a fight! That’s skill! India’s tragedy is that it prefers to punish the bribe-givers and leave free the bribe-takers and then ban the former in order to look honest. Unless the rotten apples are booked, the Chinese generals will keep laughing.
Separate issue: I am wondering what the Ministry of Defence is doing against Unit 61398 or its sister/brother concerns? Whether one likes it or not, cyberwar will be tomorrow’s war; the Chinese are far in advance on us in this field.

India: China's main enemy?

TV screen show that the single unit of simulation is marked with Chinese and Indian national flags

A couple of months ago, the Indian defence ministry had announced that it had prioritized its expenditure for the remaining months of the financial year.
The ministry had decided to focus on purchases that would impact on the armed forces' operational preparedness.
For example, the ministry planned to speed up infrastructure development in Arunachal Pradesh, buy ammunition to end shortages and acquire high-value assets, from aircraft to warships.
Defence minister A.K Antony asked  then the three forces to focus on operational preparedness. 
In May, A.K. Antony had declared in Parliament that he would seek a hike in the Rs 1,93,408 crore defence outlay of the 2012-13 budget. 
He spoke of 'new ground realities' and 'changing security scenario'. Only a hike of the budget could take care of the threat of the China-Pakistan military nexus, he said. 
Now, the finance ministry has decided otherwise.
It has been announced that the modernization budget of the armed forces will be slashed by around Rs 10,000 crore in the forthcoming budget.
The Times of India commented: "The move will lead to a major slowdown in the ongoing acquisition projects ranging from aircraft and helicopters to howitzers and missiles. It also makes it clear that the already much-delayed $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project to acquire 126 fighters will not be inked anytime before March 31," adding "IAF had been assured an additional Rs 10,000 crore to cater for the first instalment of the MMRCA projectunder which final commercial negotiations are underway for French Rafale fighters, if inked within this fiscal."
While Delhi prevaricate, China is testing a new “Air Force tactical level combat simulation system” which has been co-developed by the Chinese Air Force Command College and Sichuan Wisesoft Co. Ltd.. 
It apparently includes 4 sub-systems: air combat simulation, Tactics Research, Tactical command confrontation and AWACS simulation. 
But that is not the most interesting!
Watch the YouTube video posted below.
What do you see near the simulation equipment? 
The Indian and Chinese flags.
It probably means that China takes seriously India's preparedness (though it was before the latest budget cuts which will delay many of the important modernization projects!).
One should not forget that for the first time in October an Air Force Officer, General Xu Qiliang has been appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the all-powerful Central Military Commission (CMC).
It opens interesting perspectives for the Air Force; General Xu was Air Chief (known as Commander of the PLAAF) from 2007 to 2012; he had become ‘ex-officio’ CMC member in October 2007, though ‘ex-officio’ is not entirely correct as nothing can be taken as routine or normal at this level in China.
Today, he is one of the two Vice-Chairmen who run the Chinese defence forces (PLA, PLAAF, PLAN and Second Artillery). 
Beijing knows the importance of the Air Force in a future conflict. 
To give an example, Major-General Dai Xu, a Professor at the National Defense University of the PLA recently published a commentary in The Global Times. 
The General argued that Beijing should acquire "a powerful Air Force to deal with the crisis in the open sea".
He noted that "Japan has continuously dispatched F-15 fighters to intercept Chinese maritime surveillance aircraft and has deployed anti-submarine aircraft to harass China's ocean surveillance ships. ...For Japan to send fighter jets is a qualitative change in diplomatic moves. … The Chinese Air Force has no choice but to come forward with equivalent or even greater efforts. The Chinese Air Force should develop a plan as soon as possible, have targeted training and deployment, make sure China is able to take immediate action when needed, and be able to win the war when in the fight.”
Openly, Japan and the US are still the enemies, but China is also preparing to open a Western front in Tibet, to be activated, if and when required.
It is perhaps not the right time for India to take a nap.

Simulation system shows India is the main enemy of China
January 2, 2013

China Military News by China-defense-mashup) 
In recent Chinese CCTV military news report, China has develop a new air combat simulation system for PLA Air Force. It is interesting that TV screen show that the single unit of simulation is marked with Chinese and Indian national flags. This may indicate that Chinese Air Force has eyed Indian air power as its main counterpart.
This so-called “Air Force tactical level combat simulation system” is co-developed by Air Force Command College and Sichuan Wisesoft Co.,Ltd. including 4 sub-systems: air combat simulation, Tactics Research, Tactical command confrontation and AWACS simulation. This new system builds a platform for multi-level and real-time air combat simulation for pilots to be familiar with modern air war in context of information age.
Besides, this system will help Chinese Air Force to dig new theory and doctrines for its strategic power transformation.
Huang Anxiang, the engineer of PLA Air Force Command College Training Center, introduces that the simulation system can be easily converted into the corresponding fighters or attackers, such as J-10, J-11, Q-5 and JH-7. The Pilots can be turned from rookie to be “ACE” in the shortest time to fully play the greatest effectiveness of combat aircraft and other weapons.
In recent years, China has built and converted five large strategic airports near the Sino-Indian border, which are all high-grade airport for large transport aircraft taking off and landing.

Nyingchi [Nyingtri] Airport: located at the Mainling territory’s Brahmaputra valley and only kilometers from the southern Tibet Sino-Indian border area. China started construction in October 2003, a total investment of 780 million yuan, 2,949 meters above sea level. Nyingchi Airport opened at the end of 2005.

Shigatse Pingan airport: Shigatse Pingan airport’s location is near the highway of China and Nepal border. From Shigatse Pingan airport, people can easily reach of the Himalayas Mountain area. Airport is 3782m above sea level. Shigatse Pingan airport opened at the October, 2010.

Qamdo [Chamdo] Bangda Airport: Qamdo Bamda Airport, located in Bamda, Qamdo, is the highest airport in the world, at an elevation of 4,334 metres. It has the longest publicly used runway in the world, at 5,500 m. The airport’s expansion was completed in July 2009.

Ngari Gunsa Airport: Ngari Gunsa Airport is a dual-use military and civil airport serving the town of Shiquanhe in Ngari Prefecture, in the southwest of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and only only 90 kilometers away from the northern section of the disputed territory and India. It started operations on 1 July 2010, becoming the fourth civil airport in Tibet after Lhasa, Nyingchi, and Qamdo airports. Situated at 4,274 m (14,022 ft) above sea level, Gunsa Airport has the best airport of takeoff and landing conditions of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The runway length of 4,500 meters can meet taking-off/landing requirements of Airbus A319, Boeing-737, Boeing-700, IL-76, Y-8 transport aircraft and combat aircraft like Su-27, J-10, H-6 bomber. Almost all Northern Indian area is under the radius of 1,000 km range from Ngari Gunsa Airport.

Nagqu [Nagchu] Dagring Airport is an airport under construction near Nagqu in the Nagqu Prefecture of Tibet. When completed in 2014 it will be the highest airport in the world at 4,436 m, surpassing Qamdo Bangda Airport (also in Tibet) as the highest. Construction began in 2011 and is scheduled to take three years. It Is expected to be completed in 2014 when the airport annual handling capacity of 2.2 million passengers and 15,000 tons of cargo.
China plateau airports’ number have been up to 3/4 of the world. According to the plan, by 2020, the Chinese side of the Sino-Indian border, the airport number will be 20. These airports in accordance with the almost the same interval, extending from the northwest to southeast across most of the area of sino-india border security.
Half a century has gone by since a border war between China and India broke out in the eastern Himalayas on October 20, 1962. Memories of that war linger not only at the Indian national policymaking level but also in local discourses in northeast India, given the Indian defeat at the hands of China in 1962. The border issue remains disputed.
China plans to deploy its fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the J-20 in this region, once the radar-evading stealth fighter jet gets operational by 2018. Six divisions of China’s Rapid Reaction Forces (RRF) are stationed at Chengdu with 24-hour operational readiness and supported by an airlift capability to transport the troops to the India-China border within 48 hours.