India may need to re-appreciate Xi - Times of India

BEIJING: There's a growing perception in New Delhi that China, under its new president and commander-in-chief, Xi Jinping, is becoming more belligerent - a view bolstered by the recent infiltration of Chinese troops 10 km into the Indian border district of Ladakh. This flies in the face of Xi's imaging so far as a sober and friendly leader, widely seen as someone trying to resolve China's domestic challenges and taking advantage of the financial difficulties of the West instead of being distracted with war mongering. At the same time, Xi is a charismatic leader, and it's not unlikely that he would exert to fulfill the dreams of many uniformed and ordinary Chinese who want the government to project the country's might. Many in China believe that their recent success in building an aircraft carrier an d enhancing space power need to be demonstrated before the world. As for India-China border issues, except a few points about alignment, the Line of Actual Control has been mostly agreed upon by both countries. The Chinese foreign ministry claim, that its border troops were acting in strict compliance with the bilateral agreements and conducting normal patrol on the Chinese side of the LAC, therefore becomes inexplicable. Question is whether the Ladakh script was written by authorities in Beijing or some hawkish commanders. Besides intelligence reports from the ground, New Delhi will now need to size up the real Xi. This is essential to avoid the pitfall of believing that the Chinese uphold policy continuity. Xi recently tried to demonstrate his control over the military by asking the top brass to rub their star-decked shoulders with ordinary soldiers, and work with them as equals for at least two weeks. He has gone farther than his predecessor Hu Jintao, who was satisfied with pledges of the military's loyalty to the Communist Party of China. Observers ask why Xi felt the need to demonstrate his control over the military given that almost the entire central military commission was handpicked by him. Although Xi's team is totally in command, it is trying to make sure that no local commander is tempted to deviate even sl ightly from the script, observers said. A recurring question is why should China open up another front when it is engaged in naval challenges with Japan, North Korea and the US. The answer lies in China's confidence in its power, and the inability of the west to join hands against a financially strong Beijing. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHXBbeowmW5F2udKxpXeg3wHBQFdA&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-may-need-to-re-appreciate-Xi/articleshow/19719308.cms

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