National Security Vol. V Issue I | January - March 2022

March 21 , 2022 Views: 14003 Comments: 0

About The Issue

This current issue of National Security examines the grave security environment around India, especially those flowing from China’s unbridled quest for dominance and expansionism. It begins with an essay by India’s Former High Commissioner to Pakistan, Satish Chandra, wherein he critically examines Pakistan’s recently released National Security Policy. He calls the ‘Policy’ a failed attempt at image-building since no changes are indicated in its hostile approach towards India, its support for terror groups, or in the dominance of the military in its policy making. Prof. Sujit Dutta, Editor of National Security, in his essay draws attention to the destabilizing impact of the extreme nationalist, belligerent, and expansionist strategic posture of China even as the regime faces multiple domestic challenges and steps up political repression to secure itself. Lt. Gen Gautam Banerjee analyses the divergence between ‘direction and destination’ in President Xi Jinping’s pursuit of the China Dream, and how this has undermined the progress, security, and stability in Asia.

In his perceptive analysis of the significance of the Chinese aggression in Ladakh, Lt. Gen Rakesh Sharma explores the strategic context of China’s expansionist tendencies and the need for India to build all round capacities to foil the 21st century warfare of the PLA. Analyst Naval Jagota, in his essay on the PLA Air Force, assesses its budgets, roles, holdings, and real-world behaviour in the context of East Asia to anticipate its likely actions in a conflict. Scholar Prerna Gandhi analyzes the many tensions in the post-pandemic Chinese economy that could increasingly strain its capacities unless addressed. In her sensitive article, scholar Sarada Subhash argues that China’s systematic Sinicization poses the threat of ‘cultural genocide’ in Tibet, and the need for international awareness and action.

In a new segment called ‘Africa Watch’, scholar Samir Bhattacharya writes on the ongoing civil war in one of the continent’s most important countries, Ethiopia, and its significance for the region and India.

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CONTENTS: Volume 5 (2022) Issue 1 | January - March 2022

Abstract: The Tibetan people and their distinct national identity have been under constant threat since the invasion and occupation of Tibet by China in 1950-51. To understand the extent and magnitude of atrocities against the non-violent Tibetans by China one needs to grasp China’s state policies/programmes that drive the state-led efforts to erase Tibetan national identity. This article argues that Chinese policies of ‘stability-maintenance’, ‘social management’, ‘political re-education programme’, with Sinicisation at their core, are attempts by the CPC to tighten its domestic security and stability in the country in general and its alienated and restive periphery, in particular. Even the so-called development narrative in the Tibetan region is but a pretext by Xi Jinping’s regime to systematically monitor and control any discontent that may arise amongst the Tibetans against the Chinese state. Xi’s Tibetan ‘development plans’ can also be perceived as a Chinese strategy to buy support with the aim to curb disaffection and ensure social stability.

Africa Watch

The Geopolitics of Ethiopian Civil War and India’s Task | Samir Bhattacharya

Abstract: With the civil war in Ethiopia showing no signs of a closure even after a year, the Ethiopian Government has declared a state of emergency, reflecting the rapid escalation of a metastasizing war. If the Ethiopian belligerents fail to end the war immediately, it will tear the country apart and further destabilize the already volatile Horn of Africa region. While the principal cause of war appears to be the ethnicisation of Ethiopian politics, the genesis of the war can be traced to geopolitics. The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile has created a catch-22 situation where Egypt and Ethiopia are stuck even after multiple rounds of discussions. With the fate of Ethiopia—one of India’s closest partners in Africa -- hanging in a precarious balance, New Delhi needs to press for concerted efforts by the world community to end the ongoing massacre and destruction of the state.