A Chinese expert on international affairs Lin Minwang, a Professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, has said that while India’s fighting qualities are untested, its weaponry is of good, writes P.K.Balachandran in newsin.asia.
“It’s hard to evaluate India’s military power, as the country has not fought any war in the past few decades. But India’s weaponry is quite good, as both Russia and U.S. have sold it better weapons and equipment than to China. As the world’s biggest importing country of weaponry, India has good ties with those countries,” Lin is quoted as saying by People’s Daily Online.
“And in addition to its advanced weaponry, oversea Indians are more united than Chinese,” he added.
According to Lin, a statistics showed that among 50 scientists who seem likely to one day win the Nobel Prize, 20 of them are from India.Indian occupation in the Silicon Valley has also shown that the country enjoys great overseas talent pools.
“It will be wrong to look down upon our neighbor. Instead we should objectively analyze India’s pros and cons,” Lin stressed.
India’s Weak Link
However, India’s weakness is in the economic sphere though it is one of the leading economic powers today, Lin said.
“ WhileIndia can be counted as a leading economic power, it is backward in comparison with China and is unlikely to catch up with the latter because its system allows it to carry the burdens of the past.”
“Compared to China, India’s manufacturing industry only accounts for over 20 percent of its economy. The reason is that in the 1980s, while China focused on its opening policy and economic reform, India attached more importance to its service industry,” Lin said.
According to experts, India’s failure in promoting its manufacturing industry has led to a serious trade deficit with China. In 2016, the total trade volume between China and India was around $70 billion, a number that was even less than that between China and Vietnam. India does not have much that China needs, while China’s products are more welcomed in the Indian market.
Too Late
According to Lin, it is rather late in the day for India to try and become a manufacturing giant and challenge China in this sphere.
“It’s too late for India to develop its manufacturing industry. Under such circumstances, India’s huge population may become less an advantage and more a factor that undermines the country’s social stability, as a low employment rate may occur,” Lin said.
“Some people believe that India will surpass China in the long run, as India is a democratic country. But after years of development, India has lagged behind even further. Though India’s economy can grow, its development may stop when it surpasses Japan to become the world’s third largest economy, as many of its social problems will occur by then.,”
“The reason why China can realize its modernization swiftly is because its society was reshaped completely and there was no historical burden for its development, but India preserves its original social formation, which has significantly blocked its way to modernization,” Lin said.
Entrenched Hostility
Lin hinted that the conflict between China and India will continue because of the entrenched antagonistic feelings of the two peoples towards each other.
According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2016, in the wake of Sino-Indian territorial disputes and growing economic competition, about six-in-ten Chinese (61 percent) hold a negative opinion of India, while 36 percent of Indians voice an unfavorable view of China.
(The featured image at the top shows an Indian army unit firing rockets)
