Now Sikkim too belongs to China

You never would have thought that, would you? But the Chinese definitely have. After Arunachal Pradesh, the Chinese have now staked claims to Sikkim. Earlier this month, Chinese troops transgressed the international border and entered one kilometer inside northern Sikkim. For a full report on this incident, visit:
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/sikkim-intrusion-india-shies-away-from-confronting-china/67393-3.html

This comes after numerous such incidents at Arunachal Pradesh. Over and above the regular intrusions, road and helipad building inside the Indian side of the LAC, in April the Chinese troops came 12 kilometers inside at Maja in Arunachal Pradesh.

Such transgressions are not limited to the East and the Northeast, they are now happening at the western sector as well. On May 16 this year, Chinese troops chased away Indian military and IB officials and hurled insults at them from inside the Line of Actual Control near Ladakh. For a full report on this incident and a tactical analysis of the Chinese threat, do visit:
http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?Itemid=1&id=9754&option=com_content&task=view&issueid=39&sectionid=61

Close to 400 such intrusions have happened in the last three years. This year, the count is about 90. The question that naturally comes to my mind is why such incidents are happening so frequently now. Why is the Chinese government staking claims to newer parcels of India? Does China perceive us as a weak nation incapable of defending ourselves?

The facts that come out are not very encouraging. Till date, the politicos at North Block have done precious little to proclaim: "Fuck off, this is out territory." On the contrary, they have bent over backwards to please the Chinese and have repeatedly tried to flag these intrusions off as stray incidents of no consequence. There has been no sustained effort to douse the tension at the border, except feeble diplomatic protests. Have any of you heard our Prime Minister, external affairs minister or defence minister protest against these intrusions publicly? Last heard, Pranab Mukherjee was cold-shouldered and denied raising the intrusion issue with the highest levels of Chinese leadership. (Source: http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9754&Itemid=1&issueid=58&limit=1&limitstart=1)

A weak leadership in India is helping the Chinese to flex their muscle. A coalition government that can't make a single decision without fearing a backlash, supported by Left parties whose China-filia is long familiar, and what more would you want? Now China doesn't even consider India as an equal or a threat, only as a nation that can be bullied. Our competitive advantage is eroding every day. On the other side, with increasing ballistic missile capability and mobile launchers, hidden seaports that station nuke-armed nuclear submarines, and space-age lasers and satellite destroyer missiles, the Chinese are steadily increasing their influence beyond their geographical boundaries. If India doesn't stand up to this big-brother attitude now, it might be too late to do so. And then, you might really need a Chinese visa to visit Gangtok or Itanagar.

All this brings another thought to my mind, isn't it time we had a new government? Some leaders who have their backbones at the right places?