Canada faces serious foreign interference issues, but these challenges must not be weaponized to unfairly target friendly and important allies like India.
In Episode 1544 of CutTheClutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks at some top economists pointing to the pitfalls of ‘currency nationalism’ with data from 1991 to 2004.
Among 19 Indian firms sanctioned by US Treasury Dept was Lokesh Machines Ltd accused of coordinating with 'Russian defence procurement agent to import Italy-origin CNC machines'.
While we talk much about our military, we don’t put our national wallet where our mouth is. Nobody is saying we should double our defence spending, but current declining trend must be reversed.
All one can say is, We should be realistic, pragmatic. The 4 : 1 asymmetry in the size of the economies is a fact of life. It has developed over a forty year period, when the two countries adopted different economic orthodoxies. China’s trek to greatness started with exports of garments, shoes, toys, which we reserved for the small scale sector. Unsurprising that China now spends four times as much on defence as well, although its rivalry is really with the US. It has apparently only two brigades based in Tibet. 2. Ms Jyoti Malhotra carried a sobering column recently. A senior diplomat told her, India’s sphere of influence in South Asia is now history. SAARC is lying comatose, due to India – Pakistan hostility. It may not be a bad idea to invite China to join it and to attempt a more harmonious reset, what some have called the forging of a new new modus vivendi. 3. One lacks the distinguished columnist’s expertise in strategic matters. Difficult to judge if China wants to conquer the world. India has both nuclear and conventional deterrence in place, so it is not that we would place our vital interests at risk by engaging more constructively with China. Whether it was the tense standoff at Dokalam or talk of fighting – and winning – a two and a half front war, that is not the way forward.
All one can say is, We should be realistic, pragmatic. The 4 : 1 asymmetry in the size of the economies is a fact of life. It has developed over a forty year period, when the two countries adopted different economic orthodoxies. China’s trek to greatness started with exports of garments, shoes, toys, which we reserved for the small scale sector. Unsurprising that China now spends four times as much on defence as well, although its rivalry is really with the US. It has apparently only two brigades based in Tibet. 2. Ms Jyoti Malhotra carried a sobering column recently. A senior diplomat told her, India’s sphere of influence in South Asia is now history. SAARC is lying comatose, due to India – Pakistan hostility. It may not be a bad idea to invite China to join it and to attempt a more harmonious reset, what some have called the forging of a new new modus vivendi. 3. One lacks the distinguished columnist’s expertise in strategic matters. Difficult to judge if China wants to conquer the world. India has both nuclear and conventional deterrence in place, so it is not that we would place our vital interests at risk by engaging more constructively with China. Whether it was the tense standoff at Dokalam or talk of fighting – and winning – a two and a half front war, that is not the way forward.