INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS PART ONE - BUDDING MIL-MIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002836

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV CH IN
SUBJECT: INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS PART ONE - BUDDING MIL-MIL
COOPERATION: MORE COSMETIC THAN SUBSTANTIVE?

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Classified By: Political Counselor Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Indian Army Chief General and Chairman of
Staffs Committee (COSC) J.J. Singh led a delegation of army,
navy, and AIR FORCE officers on a five-day visit to China in
an effort to expand military relations. Highlights of the
visit included:
-an agreement to conduct periodic joint army exercises
encompassing counterterrorism, anti-piracy, and search and
rescue operations in the near future;
-a decision to hold top-level annual meetings between the two
militaries beginning with a defense dialogue to be held in
New Delhi within the next two months;
-India's first access to various People's Liberation Army
(PLA) installations and formations and areas within Beijing's
Academy of Military Sciences and Central Military Commission
(CMC); and
-a move to open up one another's military training
institutions. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) This is the first in a three-part series on
India-China relations.

-------------- ANOTHER PHASE OF MILITARY RELATIONS --------------


3. (C) Indian Army Chief J.J. Singh's 21-25 May visit to
China represented the third phase of enhanced India-China
military relations. It was only the third visit to China by
an Indian Army Chief and the first by a COSC. According to a
Ministry of Defense (MOD) statement on the visit, the first
phase of increased military relations was the establishment
of a "peace and tranquility" mechanism along the Line of
Actual Control (LAC). Over time, the initiative has expanded
to include cultural and sports events that are attended by
security forces on both sides of the border. Stage two
allowed observers at military exercises and extended
attendance at military training facilities. The MOD
characterized General Singh's visit as the phase of
"high-level visits to each other's military establishments."


4. (C) Media and Embassy contacts report that General Singh
met with his counterpart PLA Army Chief General Liang
Guanglie, Vice-Chairman of the CMC General Guo Boxiong,
Vice-President Zeng Quinghong, and the new Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechie. In addition to the Central Military
Commission, General Singh's delegation reportedly visited the
Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing as well as the 15
Airborne Corps at Wuhan, the 28 Airborne Division at
Hangzhou, and a naval base in Shanghai. Associate Professor
for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
Dr. Swaran Singh noted that, "the most important aspect of
General Singh's visit was the atmosphere of enhanced trust
symbolized by China's willingness to open up military sites
such as the areas in the CMC never before seen by Indian
officials." Associate Fellow at Delhi's Institute for
Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA) Dr. Abanti Bhattacharya
agreed that General Singh's visit represented a big shift in
contacts. "However, sending officers is more cosmetic than
substantive. Exchanging scholars to learn and understand the
language, history, and culture of each other's country is the
key to improved relations."

-------------- A NEW DEFENSE DIALOGUE --------------


5. (C) The 30 May issue of "The Hindu" noted Indian
Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao's comments that the first
defense dialogue will be held in New Delhi in a few months
and become an annual event. The defense dialogue follows the
road map to increased military-to-military contact laid out
in India and China's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed
by former Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his
counterpart General Cao Gangchuan during Mukherjee's May 2006
visit to China. General J.J. Singh's visit is seen as a

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follow up to operationalize the 2006 MOU. Although two joint
naval exercises were held in 2006 in Shanghai and Kochi and
another held in April 2007 in Qingdao, General Singh
finalized the agreement for the first army-to-army exercise
during his May trip. While Ambassador Vinod C. Khanna
(retd.) lauded the new Defense Dialogue as integral for an
exchange of views to understand strategic positions in the
region, Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS)
Director Dipankar Bannerjee cautioned that it would take more
than a defense dialogue to alter the current asymmetrical
power relationship and patronizing attitude of the Chinese.
General Chopra (retd.) noted observed that the joint army
exercises were purely symbolic given the small number of
troops involved. Ambassador Khanna said that, however small,
"who would have dreamed that we be discussing joint military
exercises with China a decade ago? These small exercises can
be used as building blocks for more far- reaching exercises
in the future."

-------------- MILITARIES CONTINUE TO FORGE AHEAD DESPITE DIPLOMATIC
FRAYS --------------


6. (C) COMMENT: However small these first steps toward
military-to-military cooperaration may be, they reinforce
India's realpolitik policy towards its gigantic northern
neighbor: maintain stable relations. It is doubtful that
there will ever be a true cooperative military relationship
between the two countries, but even cosmetic progress can be
valuable in shaping perceptions about the state of the
relationship. The Indian military will continue to make nice
with the PLA for legitimate security reasons and,
particularly, for as long as India perceives a gap in its
asymmetrical power relationship with China. Post will report
septel on how the budding military relationship feeds into
India's larger China policy. END COMMENT.
MULFORD