A senior Indian official said: “The A&N (Andaman and Nicobar) command is our military outpost in the region, which overlooks the Malacca Strait and dominates the Six-Degree Channel. We don’t want Chinese warships sniffing around in the area on the pretext of hunting for the missing jetliner or anti-piracy patrols."
For that reason, India has turned down a Chinese request seeking consent for four of its warships to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane near India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
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China had on Thursday sought consent for four of its warships — including two frigates — to enter the Indian waters. Indian officials said the request had been “politely turned down”, adding that Indian warships and aircraft were already searching the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
The Indian Navy already has four warships deployed in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in continuation of the search for the jetliner. Extensive air searches are also being conducted with three aircraft in the area.
The two Asian giants are neighbors and both are wary of each others' military capabilities. The islands house an important Indian military outpost, where the country’s only tri-services command is located.
The search for Flight MH370 also saw Vietnam denying entry for all participating ships and aircraft from neighboring countries to its airspace and waters.
While China has asserted full claim on the South China Sea - that provoked diplomatic uneasiness among countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia - India has firmly puts Andaman and Nicobar under its control.
The askance in India-China relationship is still thick despite both enjoying hefty returns from bilateral economic ties.
China’s current defense budget is US$132 billion - even that does not reflect the true scale of its defense spending, including R&D. Adding all expenditures, it is really in the region of $160 billion. This gap is opening serious windows of vulnerability.
New Delhi was hoping to speed up critical arms acquisition projects. Although they may not be able to match China dollar for dollar but a safe proportionality has to be maintained, and this is why there is an urgent need for deeper strategic cooperation between India, Japan and Vietnam.
To India, its 'pay back time' by refusing to let China's ships in Andaman Sea.
The aim is to deter China from any kind of adventurism. In 2008 they were following a cautious policy of 'hide your abilities - bide your time'. But, in 2009 there was an abrupt and significant change.
China’s military felt that, with DF- 21D Missiles, it had the answer to the US Carrier Battle Groups, and its anti-access strategy became workable. Since then, China has turned very aggressive against all Asian neighbors - including Southeast Asian nations, Japan, Vietnam and India in particular.
India's Agni-V is not such 'a dwarf' as described by China; it puts Beijing in range and the Chinese know that well. It is time for India to pay China back with the same coin for its highly provocative support of the rouge state of Pakistan.
For this, India feels the need to pull out all stops and cooperate closely with Japan, Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia.
India has the advantage of buying the best technology from both the East and the West. What they need is to speed up arms acquisition drive. In the meantime the military math dictates the need for a solid India-Japan-Vietnam combination to check China’s uncalled for aggression.
China today has 913 fourth-generation fighters. India has some 322 and Japan 277. The logic of cooperation is in the numbers. At the very least it will complicate Chinese decision making and tie down resources - disabling China from focusing on any one neighbor.
The biggest danger comes from China’s water hegemony and, for India, its efforts to divert the waters of the Tibetan rivers.
For that reason, India has turned down a Chinese request seeking consent for four of its warships to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane near India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
China had on Thursday sought consent for four of its warships — including two frigates — to enter the Indian waters. Indian officials said the request had been “politely turned down”, adding that Indian warships and aircraft were already searching the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
The Indian Navy already has four warships deployed in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in continuation of the search for the jetliner. Extensive air searches are also being conducted with three aircraft in the area.
The two Asian giants are neighbors and both are wary of each others' military capabilities. The islands house an important Indian military outpost, where the country’s only tri-services command is located.
The search for Flight MH370 also saw Vietnam denying entry for all participating ships and aircraft from neighboring countries to its airspace and waters.
While China has asserted full claim on the South China Sea - that provoked diplomatic uneasiness among countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia - India has firmly puts Andaman and Nicobar under its control.
The askance in India-China relationship is still thick despite both enjoying hefty returns from bilateral economic ties.
China’s current defense budget is US$132 billion - even that does not reflect the true scale of its defense spending, including R&D. Adding all expenditures, it is really in the region of $160 billion. This gap is opening serious windows of vulnerability.
New Delhi was hoping to speed up critical arms acquisition projects. Although they may not be able to match China dollar for dollar but a safe proportionality has to be maintained, and this is why there is an urgent need for deeper strategic cooperation between India, Japan and Vietnam.
To India, its 'pay back time' by refusing to let China's ships in Andaman Sea.
The aim is to deter China from any kind of adventurism. In 2008 they were following a cautious policy of 'hide your abilities - bide your time'. But, in 2009 there was an abrupt and significant change.
China’s military felt that, with DF- 21D Missiles, it had the answer to the US Carrier Battle Groups, and its anti-access strategy became workable. Since then, China has turned very aggressive against all Asian neighbors - including Southeast Asian nations, Japan, Vietnam and India in particular.
India's Agni-V is not such 'a dwarf' as described by China; it puts Beijing in range and the Chinese know that well. It is time for India to pay China back with the same coin for its highly provocative support of the rouge state of Pakistan.
For this, India feels the need to pull out all stops and cooperate closely with Japan, Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia.
India has the advantage of buying the best technology from both the East and the West. What they need is to speed up arms acquisition drive. In the meantime the military math dictates the need for a solid India-Japan-Vietnam combination to check China’s uncalled for aggression.
China today has 913 fourth-generation fighters. India has some 322 and Japan 277. The logic of cooperation is in the numbers. At the very least it will complicate Chinese decision making and tie down resources - disabling China from focusing on any one neighbor.
The biggest danger comes from China’s water hegemony and, for India, its efforts to divert the waters of the Tibetan rivers.