Power Balance Of Asia

[sashikanth]

The power balance of asia- a detailed study of the influence some major countries hold towards the future.

First lets start with China.

China- The largest country in asia.The economy of fast rising.With the economy there is also a rise in ambitions.The ambition to become a superpower.It is spending hugely in defence deals and rapidly modernising its armed forces.The air force is one of the biggest in the world and the army is the largest standing army in the world.But surprisingly the naval dominance cannot extend beyond the china sea.
Major threats: India is the only country in the asian continent that can match the military air and naval power of china.

Friendly Nations: Not many considering the territorial ambitions of the chinese, but Pakistan continues to be in the top of the list, as it appears as a clear motive to keep india 'preoccupied'.What ever may be the reason, Pakistan is benifitting greatly from this.


INDIA:


The second big power in asia is India.The economy of the nation is rising rapidly, just a few notches less than the chinese economy and will overtake japannese economy by this year end (accoring to the present projections).
Again, with a big economy a big shopping list and along with it, a big ambition.The army is the second largest standing army in the world.The airorce is considered to be one of the best in the world. Statergically well placed to execute air ominance anywhere in india and can execute a naval blockade in the indian ocean cutting off the supply lanes of the rest of asia.

Major Allies: Russia countinues to be a mojor ally for the indians.They have continued to be the biggest and the most dependable arms suppliers for india.
Israel is the second biggest arms supplier and growing to be a good ally for india.India now is looking to foster good relations with other countries of asia.
Although india had fought numerious wars with pakistan, india has moved on from that stage as pakistan cannot be considered a major threat for india as its armed muscle is growing.

Pakistan: Pakistan has always been obsessed with india, and still continues to do so.The internal problems in pakistan itself lead to a change in the stand.The pakistan's economy now depends on aids from foreign countries.
Not a very big defence shopping list ,but with constant help from china, India will be foolish not to have an eye on pakistan.Statergically not well placed to execute any major dominance over asia.


Islands of Indonesia\Malayasia\singapore: These countries are doing well for themseves as we have seen singapore has emerjed as a global destination for i.t. and electronics.On the defence side these countries individualy do not pose as a big threat to any agressor, but if these countries come together and for some kind of a union or a federation of countries, they surely got the capacity to emerge as a big economy and a formidable defence force.


Sri Lanka: The economy is in a bad position due to the ongoing civil war like situation in srilanka.They seem to be more preoccupied to defeat the tamil tigers and i dont think they will be able to concentrate on international issues unless the internalproblem is solved once in for all.


Please leave your opinion and please bring up more points to support your cause.Please try to be creative in asserting situations.

 

[bilalmunir919]

Pakistan doesnt depend on foreign aid to drive its economy.In the fiscal year 2006-2007 Pakistan received a record FDI of 6.975 billion US dollars.So get your facts right.:
Regarding the strategic location the newly develop Gwadar deep seaport lies close to strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf where more than 13 million bbl/day of oil passes.
And what will happen if India has to encounter combined Pakistani and Chinese military.

 

[nero]

bangladesh

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what about small nations like bangladesh ??

on it's own bangladesh is a threat to no one.

but if bangladesh alligns with the sino-pak alliance, then it could have a major impact on the balance of power in south asia.



.

 

[gf0012-aust]

Admin: Early warning. If this post degrades into an Indian/Pakistani/Chinese bun fight it will be closed pronto.

Exercise some restraint and inject some quality or we will close it.

 

[sashikanth]

look now , this is no this v/s that thresd.
This is an attempt to discuss the impact that ifferent countries will have taking the geographic placement into consideration.

The visitor are requested to bring more points and regarding the effects of the different countries geographically that that are bound to happen that will effect the whole of asia an not any country individually.Also leave your opinion regarding the balance of power of the power in the whole of asia, not just on individual countries.

 

[cheetah]

Pakistan: Pakistan has always been obsessed with india, and still continues to do so.The internal problems in pakistan itself lead to a change in the stand.The pakistan's economy now depends on aids from foreign countries.
Not a very big defence shopping list ,but with constant help from china, India will be foolish not to have an eye on pakistan.Statergically not well placed to execute any major dominance over asia.

And Pakistan is obsessed with India.
funny when united states decided to sell arms to Pakistan.it was Indians that went crazy as far as spreading rumors that Pakistani gave f16 to china for reverse engineering.

Threatening Russia if you give engines for jf-17. these are just to name the few obsessions showed by Pakistanis against India.OH MY BAD its the other way around but then who is looking.

Pakistan's economy is growing 7% for the last five years in a row.but from the article you would c any thing but that.

off course it is Pakistanis obsession with India.all the posts by my Indian friends shows that .

India's blind spot
There is glee in our response to Pakistan's travails. We were happy when it was described as a failed state. In order not to sound prejudiced, we did argue that it was not our assessment but that of the West, as if anything coming from it was the gospel truth. Our bias was clear and we waited for the collapse of Pakistan under the weight of its economic difficulties.



More recently, after the September 11 carnage, we enjoyed Pakistan's chagrin as they had to stand behind America and jettison the Taliban, their own creation. That Islamabad lost face was apparent. It is proved beyond doubt that the ISI trained, armed and guided the Taliban and that Pakistani troops and officers fought alongside them till the last minute. But we failed to recognise the change in Islamabad's policy.

It is clear that Pakistan took a U-turn when it found it had no option but to support America. All that Islamabad had built collapsed like a house of cards in a few days. It realised that its policy on Afghanistan was flawed. The policy-makers who saw Afghanistan giving Pakistan a much-needed "strategic depth" were found to be ambitious and unrealistic. General Pervez Musharraf justified the new policy "in the best national interest which was motivated by concerns of security." He may sound opportunistic but he has to stay in the good books of mighty Washington.

We refused to see how crestfallen Islamabad was. Nor did we gauge the disillusionment of the people of Pakistan. We were on our ego trip: not to give an inch to Islamabad. There is no doubt that Pakistan's president accepted the facts. He did it despite knowing that the public opinion in his country was anti-America. It was a personal risk he took. It has paid off so far.

Our efforts, on the other hand, were concentrated on creating bad blood between America and Pakistan. We could not accept the position of not being asked to help even after we had offered all our support within an hour of the September 11 tragedy. How could Washington woo Islamabad, whose complicity with the Taliban was beyond doubt? We went on telling the world that a dictatorship was being preferred to a democratic state. Probably, it was not that black or white. Probably America had no choice. Probably it chose Pakistan because it has a long border with Afghanistan. Pakistan, a frontline state, was also an ideal place to launch any action against Afghanistan. Islamabad opened airports and other places to help American and British soldiers enter Afghanistan.

America could conduct bombardment from naval ships as it did. But it needed a land base for ground operations. India is not the ideal geographical location for that kind of access. Thank God for that, because it would have been difficult for an open, democratic country to allow foreign soldiers to operate from its soil. Still we sulk because Washington wants to build equally strong relations with Islamabad. Must it always be them or us?

Kabul has a friendly government, one that is not under the influence of Islamabad or the ISI. The Musharraf junta has unwittingly helped us. Another welcome point is that Islamabad is waging war against Islamic fundamentalists and obscurantists. They are the Taliban within.

We should feel elated that Afghanistan, which was a breeding ground for terrorists, is no more a vortex of militancy. Terrorism will no longer be exported to Kashmir from there. There was a time when Musharraf was thick with the terrorists. He was unsure of his ground even when he took action against them initially. In Sind, he arrested some terrorists but released them quickly. He was probably testing the waters.

Subsequently, however, he joined issue with them. He has detained many terrorists and has had to face demonstrations in support of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. Musharraf has also dismissed the ISI chief, transferred the two top army commanders and demoted some middle-rank officers who were baptised during General Zia-ul Haq's regime. The military -- one-third of it bigoted -- may well have been cleaned up.

This mopping up job must have emboldened Musharraf. He has enunciated harsh measures to discipline thousands of madrassas which have been training nearly 500,000 students in fundamentalism every year for the last two decades. The madrassas now need to register themselves, submit their accounts for audit and introduce science and other subjects to modernise their curriculum. This is something even we have not dared do about the madrassa-like institutions in India.

For the first time in many years, the Pakistan intelligentsia is happy that the wave of Talibanisation, which was taking over the society, is receding. Some leading journalists and academics who were in Delhi last month were amazed to find India indifferent and uninformed about this development. We have never given the impression that we favour it despite the fact that any step against fundamentalists in Pakistan strengthens our secular society.

It is possible that Musharraf may also come to realise that the minorities in Pakistan should have a better deal. The present system which advocates separate electorates is a millstone which the Christians and Hindus have been wearing around their necks since the inception of Pakistan's constitution. Although the two communities do not exceed five to seven per cent of Pakistan's total population, their say is nil. Musharraf may well prove to be the first head of state to give them their voice back.

Musharraf's Achilles heel is that he lacks the electoral backing every ruler cherishes. The test will come next year when Pakistan has to return to democracy under the orders of the Supreme Court.

Pakistan may not turn into a democratic polity because the army has too much at stake in the country's policies. Even otherwise, the army in a third world country seldom returns to the barracks once it tastes power. It is worse in Pakistan because authoritarianism is woven deeply in the warp and woof of its society, which is organised on the basis of Bonapartism and feudalism.

The extent to which Pakistan becomes a modern liberal state will be significant for us. It is unfortunate that it still believes that the terrorists it sends across the border are jehadis. This has only communalised the society. The supply of arms, training or money in the name of religion is equally divisive. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto saw the point during her visit to New Delhi and said she would stop cross-border terrorism if she returned to power.

What New Delhi and Islamabad should be worrying about is that America looks like it will continue to stay in the region. It may have a base in Afghanistan and also "protect" oil and gas in the country. America would like to "overlook" China, Russia, India and Pakistan. It would also like to "influence" events in the region. This is the greatest danger to both India and Pakistan. Individually, the two will be helpless. They must jointly act to keep America from the region, even if they do not see eye to eye on many points.

Kuldip Nayar

 

[eckherl]

What about South Korea, surely her economy is rapidly growing, and her military is one of the best in that part of the world. Where does South Korea fit in as a major player in Asia.

 

[Todjaeger]

What about South Korea, surely her economy is rapidly growing, and her military is one of the best in that part of the world. Where does South Korea fit in as a major player in Asia.

Or for that matter, Japan. It might not have a powerful (numerically) military, but has high quality equipment and training. Not to mention one of the most advanced, if not the most advanced tech, industrial and economic bases in Asia.

Perhaps it might be better if all the players were identified first, then a discussion could be held on the different interactions between various nations.

-Cheers

 

[Waylander]

A country which reaches a defense budget of roughly 40 billion bucks with just 1% of GDP is for sure worth a look.

 

[eckherl]

Who does China feel is good strong allies besides Pakistan, also who would be considered strong allies to India. I asked my wife who in Asia does South Korea consider as a strong dependable friend and she stated no one,
(I think it must be the Mongolian blood line in her), they seem to get along with Malaysia.

 

[Izzy1]

Who does China feel is good strong allies besides Pakistan...

As you say, besides Pakistan, the numbers are pretty thin on the ground. I think the closest relationship China has in South East Asia for instance is with Thailand. However, Bangkok has always had to balance this dialogue with its equally crucial relations with Washington. Territorial disputes and expat ethnic-Chinese population issues seem to complicate and hinder improved relations with nearly every other ASEAN member nation.

Further west, Burma and Bangladesh have cordial agreements with Beijing, yet again however, they are far from being considered strong allies.

 

[riksavage]

Japan has the potential to become the dominant military power in Asia, if the Government moves from a passive stance to a militaristic one similar to what we saw in the early 30’s. China, India, Pakistan are not first world nations YET. India and Pakistan are still considered third world by the UN. So talk of huge economic development is one thing, but how much of that can be diverted away from much need social reforms, infrastructure and eradicating poverty is another thing.

Japan has a huge cutting edge technological manufacturing base; its advances in robotics for example are way ahead of anyone else, including America. The difference is Japan’s R&D focus is currently centred on commercial industry (automotive, electronics etc.). If only part of this R&D effort was diverted towards the rearming of Japan on a grand scale you will witness the arrival of an unparalleled military power in the Far East. Japans population of 150 million means you have a large pool of potential well-educated military man-power backed up by a formidable industrial base.

Having spent a lot of time in China the average person does not fear America, but a rearmed and militarized Japan; they have very strong memories of 12 years of Japanese occupation. I’ve visited the museum in Nanjing and the exhibits and stories contained therein parallel what you would witness during a visit to any of the German concentration camp memorials.

 

[metro]

The India/Israel relationship has been very good for not only India (in that region) but Israel has been putting "pressure" on the US to engage India as a check to China. Some outcomes as follows: US "offers" to help China build Air Craft Carriers (the response from China showed they were not happy with the real meaning of the "offer") of opening a serious relationship with India. The US would love to see China spending the money to buy carriers. There was already a naval exercise planned for a while with Australia (I believe), India, US, and others in the region.
US opened up offers of "large sales" to India for the F-16I and possibly the F-35. Nuclear deal?
With many of these countries working together, it was interesting to note that all of a sudden, 6 way talks w/NK took place, and I believe only one country has the power to influence them, which is China who all of a sudden came under a lot of pressure. Also, China hasn't been strong on Iran, we'll see now.
I just thought a lot of the sequence of events were interesting.
RE: India, Israel has been very important and I think, behind the scenes, Australia helped bring the US to India.
JMO

 

[sashikanth]

Hey thanks ya all for dropping in!!!

This is why i have tried to post this thresd for.I have started this thread as to what according to me are influential in asia and the reason why i think they do so,,, taking their economic situation into consideration.I request you to put you nominee countries inn and give the reson why you think so.Just pour your mind out, give your individual feelings regarding the above topic.

I confirm that this is not a blame game or a comparision, the thing that matters is you nominate a country and why do u think so,, thats it!!!

Have a nice day!!!!

 

[badguy2000]

the strongest is China.
then the second is Japan.

India is the third most powerful!

 

[nero]

the strongest is China.
then the second is Japan.

India is the third most powerful!

.

what about ISRAEL ???

ithought that israel is part of asia !!

or do u guys don't count israel as a military power ??

.

 

[Izzy1]

don't count israel as a military power...

That's got bugger all to do with it Nero.


I thought Israel was an Asia country too.

But they won the Eurovision Song Contest a few years back with a drag-queen and their football teams compete in the Euro Champions League.

Can't see Saudi emulating that soon somehow!!!

(Sorry, I could'nt resist.)


To be fair, Israel is a lot more European-centric than Asian. A lot like Turkey. And good luck to it.

 

[badguy2000]

.

what about ISRAEL ???

ithought that israel is part of asia !!

or do u guys don't count israel as a military power ??

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