INDIA AND CHINA’S MILITARY

CHINA'S MILITARY WHITE PAPER PLAYS DOWN DISPUTE WITH INDIA

Saibal Dasgupta, TNN

The Times of India, April 17, 2013

BEIJING: China's military has issued a white paper blaming the US for causing tension in the Asia-Pacific region and naming Japan as a troublemaker. But the paper plays down the country's troubled relationship with India over boundary claims. It also reveals details of China's enormous military structure, with some of the information being released for the first time.

The report issued by the People's Liberation Army on Tuesday complained about "neighbouring countries" complicating and exacerbating tensions. Especially targeted were China's sea neighbours, including Japan, which the report accused of "making trouble over the Diaoyu islands".

"China still faces multiple and complicated security threats and challenges," said the white paper on 'The Diversified Employment of China's Armed Forces'.

There is little discussion about India in the paper and even joint exercises conducted between the military of the two countries have not been discussed in any detail. Military exchanges with China's neighbours such as Vietnam, South Korea and Pakistan are specifically mentioned.

"Some countries are strengthening their Asia-Pacific military alliances, expanding military presence in the region, and frequently making the situation there tenser," the paper said without taking any names. The obvious reference was to the expansion of US presence in the seas near South Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

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