Military & Aerospace

China's bid to subvert HAL employees
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Issue Net Edition | Date : 17 Oct , 2018

The act of meeting former and some serving employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) by an Indian politician, wherein he castigated the present Indian dispensation, have both elements of political ambitions and external leverages. The symbiosis of the relationship between the two needs to be understood in this perspective.

Pitching India – China Combine against US

The said politician told the HAL’s employees that there are only two countries in the world, which have the capacity to challenge the US, i.e. India and China, and to the HAL goes the credit for bringing India to this level. It is another matter that generations of this politician who presided over India only abused the HAL with license production of Soviet and even French products. India still has a large number of Mirage and Mig series aircraft in its inventory. It is also another matter that two members of this politician’s family, living under the same roof, were lobbying for two different countries for acquisition of fighter aircraft in the 70s.

The acquisition of two squadrons of Rafale aircraft has the potential to redraw the strategic equation in favour of India vis-à-vis China and Pakistan.

This ‘India-China’ formulation by this politician is not incidental.

Targeting India-US Strategic Partnership

The said politician pitched India-China combine against the US. This posturing was brazenly to suit Chinese interests. The reality is that the evolving geopolitical contours in the region have impelled US and India to forge strategic partnership. Such partnerships or alliances are driven by congruency of threat perception and strategic interests, which are not permanent.

What does India do when China-Pak partnership raises to the level of ‘territorial embrace’ engendered by the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC)? What does India do when China tries to create its hegemony in the Indian Ocean by exploiting the vulnerabilities of India’s neighbours in the Indian Ocean, like Sri Lanka and Maldives? What does India do when China threatens the Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) in the South China Sea through which substantial and critical Indian trade traverses? What does India do when China supplies nuclear and missile technology to Pakistan with impunity?

The obvious answers to these questions are that India has to align with robust countervailing forces and of course one eminent neutralizing power is the US.

The said politician should be taught that in the 70s, at the height of the Cold War, the US established strategic links with China, which was scripted by Henry Kissinger and facilitated by Yahya Khan. The US-Pak-China strategic alliance was in place till the breakup of the Soviet Union.

…the Chinese are desperate to sabotage the acquisition of aircraft by India. This is where this Indian politician comes in handy.

The Rafale Factor

In the pursuit of targeting India-US strategic partnership with countries like Japan, South Korea and Vietnam — the Rafale vector that the said Indian politician has selected, is clever. The acquisition of two squadrons of Rafale aircraft has the potential to redraw the strategic equation in favour of India vis-à-vis China and Pakistan. Apart from the platform, the Rafales in the pipeline to the Indian Air Force (IAF) is believed to be packed with equipment and features that imparts it with phenomenon, rather unprecedented punch, especially vis-à-vis China. As it is IAF owing to the geographical configuration of the Indo-Tibet border region, enjoys inherent advantages over the PLAAF. The Rafale combined with the enhanced airlift capability afforded by C-17 Globemaster and C-130 Super Hercules aircraft, as also S-400 anti-missile system —  to a great extent neutralizes the threat of two-front situation.

Therefore, the Chinese are desperate to sabotage the acquisition of aircraft by India. This is where this Indian politician comes in handy. This politician’s political ambitions and the strategic interests of China have coincided, and that is why they seem to be working in tandem. 

The tryst of strategic designs and political parties is a growing phenomenon in the political landscape of India. These complementarities were once only confined between Indian communists and China, but now the canvas has enlarged to a new alignment, i.e. Pak jihadis – Indian communists – China – Indian political parties nexus, as manifested in 26/11.

The Rafale story, as desperation of China’s and its political proxies grows, is likely to get murkier. There will be every attempt to leverage all the three organs of the state, as it happened during the time of Yakub Menon’s hanging. The Chinese are also desperate to ascertain the details of the strategic configuration and capabilities of the aircraft, and are working to a plan through their proxies to unravel the same. The Solicitor General of India submitted in the Supreme Court that the details are so sensitive that even he cannot be privy to it.

…an Indian Chief Minister and few politicians had no qualms of putting India up on sale, to appease China in pursuit of political power.

Mysterious China Connection 

The said politician’s links with China can be barely concealed. In this regard, there was a shameful episode in July 2017 during height of Doklam crisis. This politician was seen surreptitiously slipping in to the Chinese Embassy. When trapped, there was initially denial and then acknowledgement about meeting with the Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui. The Doklam military maneuver by China was in pursuit of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) strategic thrust with the objective of linking Chittagong port in Bangladesh with Tibet. Bangladesh is a signatory to the BRI. It is the 25 kilometer of intervening Indian territory that poses problem for China. This cannot be penetrated without the subversion and collusion of politicians at the state and national level. Initially, politicians in Bhutan were also sought to be subverted by the Chinese, but they refused to sell themselves. However, an Indian Chief Minister and few politicians had no qualms of putting India up on sale, to appease China in pursuit of political power.

Why should the Chinese Ambassador break protocol to send off an Indian politician on Kailash Mansarover Yatra? Why should the Chinese Ambassador be so keen to facilitate the meeting between this politician and Lord Shiva? When did the two develop this intimate bonhomie? Diplomacy is much about reciprocity. How does our Ambassador in China interact with the leaders in the opposition, when opposition is a non-existent phenomenon in that country? Are we condemned to pay a price for having multiparty democracy? The said Indian politician said that his visit to the Chinese Embassy was to keep himself abreast with India’s bilateral relations with the other countries. Curiously he deemed it fit to ascertain the details of Doklam crisis through the Chinese Embassy, the adversary, and not through his country’s government. The Chinese authorities are exactly in look out for such political character. The entire top leadership in the present Nepalese dispensation is cast in the same mould.

Today this politician has chosen to subvert the HAL employees at the behest of China, tomorrow he and others like him will do the same with BARC employees, and then ISRO employees!

The said politician is probably of the belief that the Indian voter can be manipulated or even marginalized through the Jihadi – Leftist route. LeT and JeM are part of the same route. It is little understood, as to why China has such affinity with JeM? Why it vetoes in its favour at the UN? Why Pak vetoes in favour of China at the OIC, on its treatment of Uighur Muslims? It is because China uses every conceivable vector to keep India destabilize. The Red Communists in India are not the only means. The white kurtas and red dots are now more useful proxies.

Conclusion

Today this politician has chosen to subvert the HAL employees at the behest of China, tomorrow he and others like him will do the same with Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) employees, and then ISRO employees! Next they will infiltrate army units and formations as well as naval and air force bases. If the government does not nip this seditious practice, it will amount to being ‘accomplice’.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

RSN Singh

is a former military intelligence officer who later served in the Research and Analysis Wing, or R&AW and author of books Asian Strategic and Military Perspective, The Military Factor in Pakistan and The Unmaking of Nepal. His latest books are Know the Anti-Nationals (English) and Know the एंटी-नेशनल्स (Hindi).

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13 thoughts on “China’s bid to subvert HAL employees

  1. An unbelievably presumptive and illogical article, written at perhaps some political behest, or a display of abject sycophany…IDR had made a space for itself as a balanced and nuanced forum for Indian defence enthusiasts…but in recent months a spate of nonsensical and overtly political articles, taking almost child-like partisan views has destroyed IDR’s carefully built credibility. I will not be reading IDR articles again, because i might have through go through garbage like this.

  2. China lacks the guts to fight whoever it perceives as its enemy. It wages a proxy war, employing all the wiles and stratagem to browbeat a country like India, because it cannot have its way otherwise. It is following the precepts of Sun Tzu, who recommended winning a war without firing a shot. And the biggest moron in the country politically, who ceased to grow up after six years, thinks he is being very clever and subtle by supping with a Devil like China. Beijing has NOT WON A SINGLE WAR since 1979, after being thrashed by Vietnam in 1979. The analysis by Col RSN Singh about China relying on dirty tricks to sabotage the Rafale deal could be true.

  3. This is a serious allegation, especially when it comes from a former RAW officer. If there is substantial evidence to this allegation, it should be brought to light. If required, the author could seek the help of Mr.Swami. And, that ‘National'(?) politician be brought to justice sooner than later.

  4. I’ve some respect for this magazine. Today, I just lot it for such a stupid article. I don’t whether the author at India’s or China’s behest.

    Rahul never questioned the Rafale technology but the acquisition process. Nobody in this country is above law. Pls keep that in mind.. Let it be PM or president. He can’t go on making his own deals to favor some cronies..

    • The thrust of the article is why Rahul Gandhi wanted to meet HAL employees? Why did he go to chinese embassy like a thief? Is he disappointed that why it was a govt -to-govt deal and not through some b-i-t-c-h brother Quottrrachi. The disrespect for IDR by you will only make it grow.

    • @Satish you and your Rahul have not been elected PM by the people of India. Rahul and you should stop acting like you have the authority or entitlement to decide on all matters. The article has been written to alert people of India about Chinese moles in India.
      You have tried to talk gibberish and divert attention by using words like cronies and you think you are above the law.
      You obviously have to be Chinese mole to say that you have respect for the magazine but not the article.
      Can you explain why you and your Rahul have not reclaimed India’s prime heritage site Shiva’s abode from China?

    • The article has enough logic and incidents quoted to prove it’s point for you to make such a comment . If the said politician has a problem with the pricing of the deal why does he need to resort to such cheap tactics as he is doing ? Some very pertinent questions have been raised in the article, instead of questioning the website and the author Itself try answer ing them in a rational way.

  5. It is shame that the said politician has no plans to get China to return ‘Mansarover’ back to India.
    It is very important to change the laws so that no one in high level positions e.g. Prime Minister, President,…etc. can be in that position for more two full or partial terms. This will rid the idea that anyone might have about entitlement.

  6. “Indian” defence review is fast turning into “BJP” defence review, if they allow such overt anti-Congress articles 🙂

    Is this the indian version of “Fox and Friends” ??? “BJP and Friends” ??? or shud we say “Crony-Capitalism” defence review?

    • Indian defense review spoken the truth and it made so much damage to khangress that now it is sending its troll here.
      Khangress trolls are so useless that now they can’t even counter some security personal’s arguments, where he doesnt lie, just held the mirror to khangress and its clown prince.

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