 "Modi's China policy under fire from friends")
The move to keep Japan out of the initial preparation for the Indo-US Malabar naval combat exercise, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China, has been criticised by some members of foreign policy think-tanks otherwise supportive of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The exercise is slated to be held in the Bay of Bengal in October.
“We have been criticising the Manmohan Singh government all these years for the lack of a strong policy direction with regard to China and for coming under its pressure at the cost of India’s interests. Now, the government has explicitly admitted it is keeping Japan out of this exercise to keep China in good humour,” said a member of this group, also close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
According to him, India is doing what the Chinese want Delhi to do. “They (Chinese) don’t want India to tilt in favour of Japan. Why should India keep out Japan from the exercise when the latter is keen on joining it? The (ruling) NDA (coalition) is following the policies of the (prdecessor) UPA,” he added.
The government’s flip-flop on the Tibet issue has also upset some sections of the Sangh. “The BJP wanted the UPA government to pursue an aggressive pro-Tibet strategy. Why hasn't the prime minister met the Dalai Lama so far? On the other hand, BJP President Amit Shah has cancelled a scheduled meeting with the Dalai,” he added.
While in the opposition, the BJP used to be highly critical of the dumping of Chinese goods in Indian markets. “Has that stopped now? India is flooded with Chinese goods. Our steel industry is facing problems due to Chinese dumping, as we export iron ore and import steel. So far, the government has not been able to ban export of ore or impose duty on Chinese steel import. The government has been talking about Make in India but did precious little to implement it,” he said.
In an interview to The Indian Express, senior journalist and former NDA minister Arun Shourie said, “We must look at the nature of our trade with China. We are exporting raw materials — iron ore, bauxite — and importing finished goods. So many of our companies, for instance in electronic items, have become just traders in Chinese goods. Isn’t that precisely the kind of trade against which Indian nationalists, from Dadabhai Naoroji on, protested?”
“We have been criticising the Manmohan Singh government all these years for the lack of a strong policy direction with regard to China and for coming under its pressure at the cost of India’s interests. Now, the government has explicitly admitted it is keeping Japan out of this exercise to keep China in good humour,” said a member of this group, also close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
According to him, India is doing what the Chinese want Delhi to do. “They (Chinese) don’t want India to tilt in favour of Japan. Why should India keep out Japan from the exercise when the latter is keen on joining it? The (ruling) NDA (coalition) is following the policies of the (prdecessor) UPA,” he added.
The government’s flip-flop on the Tibet issue has also upset some sections of the Sangh. “The BJP wanted the UPA government to pursue an aggressive pro-Tibet strategy. Why hasn't the prime minister met the Dalai Lama so far? On the other hand, BJP President Amit Shah has cancelled a scheduled meeting with the Dalai,” he added.
While in the opposition, the BJP used to be highly critical of the dumping of Chinese goods in Indian markets. “Has that stopped now? India is flooded with Chinese goods. Our steel industry is facing problems due to Chinese dumping, as we export iron ore and import steel. So far, the government has not been able to ban export of ore or impose duty on Chinese steel import. The government has been talking about Make in India but did precious little to implement it,” he said.
In an interview to The Indian Express, senior journalist and former NDA minister Arun Shourie said, “We must look at the nature of our trade with China. We are exporting raw materials — iron ore, bauxite — and importing finished goods. So many of our companies, for instance in electronic items, have become just traders in Chinese goods. Isn’t that precisely the kind of trade against which Indian nationalists, from Dadabhai Naoroji on, protested?”
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