‘India’s entry into South China Sea aimed at countering China’

“In recent years,China has also been building up ties with countries like Myanmar… Pakistan invited China to provide safety protection and offered China a naval port on the Indian Ocean. All these moves made India feel nervous,” Shen told state-run Global Times.

Ever since the Indian firm ONGC took up oil exploration in two blocks in the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam,the Chinese official media has extended proactive coverage to it calling on the government to firmly handle it to reassert its supremacy in the region.

Besides China,the disputed waters in the South China Sea are also claimed by Vietnam,the Philippines,Brunei and Malaysia and contain rich oil reserves,estimated up to 28 billion barrels.

The joint exploration between India and Vietnam is not accidental since in recent years India has taken an increasingly eastward-looking stance,Wu Xinbo,Professor at the Centre for American Studies,Fudan University,said.

As a South Asian country,India actively takes part in East Asian issues through the support of the US which has been advocating for Asian countries to counter China.

“The US takes every opportunity to counter China,and its joint military manoeuvres with Japan and other regional countries have been more frequent in recent years,” Wu said.

This project helped India kill two birds with one stone.

It will bring economic benefits to India and at the same help it to balance out China politically,Wu said.

Rong Ying,the Vice President of the China Institute of Strategic Studies,attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,however advocated that India and China should carefully handle the issue considering the advances they made in their relations.

Twnety first century belongs to Asia Pacific region and India and China are the most important countries whose leaders have been saying that the world is big enough for both,he told state-run CCTV.

The countries have come a long way in improving their relations and should carefully handle their differences,he said.

The Chief Minister said that besides infrastructure development,his state would like investments under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode in the tourism sector.

“The basic infrastructure is being readied,we would like investment in the PPP mode in the sector,” he said.

Amid the ongoing debate on development at the cost of environmental damage,Chouhan claimed that the state government has ensured that 30 per cent of forest cover remains at all costs and there should be no over exploitation of natural resources.

“This is important against the backdrop of raging debates on issues like climate change,” he said.

He said while his state’s growth rate of nine per cent could reach the double digit mark in the near future,it will have “little meaning” till the common man derives the benefits of development.

Chouhan said Madhya Pradesh plans to hold an investors’ summit on 27-28 October,2012 where Chinese companies too would be invited. As of now,two Chinese companies have their presence in the state.

He would also attend another such seminar at Shanghai to scout for investment in development of power,infrastructure and automobile sectors.

The focus sectors of investment in Madhya Pradesh include mining,energy,infrastructure,engineering and automobile,agriculture and food processing,information technology and tourism.