Kashmir

[DMac]

Kashmir on a knife edge once again after security forces kill three youths (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kashmir-on-a-knife-edge-once-again-after-security-forces-kill-three-youths-2006837.html)

[Gypsybiker45]

age old fighting between age old enemies.

[DMac]

Definite ww3 hotspot. There are more troops located there than any other location on the planet.

Iirc China alone has nearly 1 milion stationed on their border.

[DMac]

Chinese & Pakistani Military Positioned Along Indian Border - India On Alert - (LoC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi2JakpC27c


Undeniable proof of Pak-China nexus.

It's undeniable proof of Chinese involvement in Pakistan to keep an eye on India. If a top Indian Army General is to be believed, the armed forces have proof of the presence of Chinese troops along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan.

[DMac]

Officer rings China alarm (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110406/jsp/nation/story_13816382.jsp)

MUZAFFAR RAINA

Srinagar, April 5: The army’s top northern commander has revealed that Chinese troops are present on the other side of the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), posing a military challenge to India.

Northern Command chief Lt General K.T. Parnaik’s assertion is the first such detailed statement by a top army officer since a report last August in The New York Times on the presence of the Chinese army near the LoC.

The report had claimed that 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army were present in the Gilgit and Baltistan areas of the PoK.

Parnaik warned that the Chinese presence was increasing steadily. “It (Chinese presence) poses military challenges to India and not only along the Sino-Indian border but also along the Line of Control,” he told a seminar organised by the University of Jammu’s department of strategic and regional studies last week.

“And we hear many people today who are concerned about the fact that if there were to be hostilities between us and Pakistan, what would be the complicity of the Chinese. Not only because they are in the neighbourhood but the fact that they are actually stationed and present on the Line of Control,” Parnaik added.

China, he said, had gained considerable foothold in Gilgit and Baltistan by helping Pakistan develop infrastructure and harness natural resources in the region.

“The Chinese presence is increasing steadily. China is involved in construction and upgrade of numerous roads, bridges and hydroelectric projects. The Chinese links with Pakistan through PoK lend strength to the China-Pakistan nexus which has been of great security concern for us,” he said.

The officer said the troop mobilisation hurt India’s regional and strategic interests in the long run as it facilitated speedy and enhanced deployment of Pakistan armed forces to complement China’s military operations.

“And finally, as a part of its String of Pearls policy, the Chinese footprints are too close for comfort. All this while, we are looking for peace, while we are trying to find the solution to bridge the gap and bring normalisation to the area,” Parnaik said.

His comments also come months after the Ladakh administration reported that the Chinese were preventing development activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region. The report, however, was downplayed by the Centre, which said there were differing perceptions over the LAC between the two countries.

The commander also dwelt upon the Kashmir issue, saying aazadi (freedom) or accession to Pakistan was not the answer. He pointed out that Pakistan had kept PoK underdeveloped while considerable development has taken place in Indian Kashmir.

[DMac]

String of Pearls (China) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_of_Pearls_%28China%29)

The String of Pearls refers to the Chinese sea lines of communication which extend from Hong Kong to Port Sudan. The sea lines run through the strategic choke points Strait of Mandab, Strait of Malacca, Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Lombok as well as other strategic naval interest such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Somalia. The term was used in an internal United States Department of Defense report titled "Energy Futures in Asia".[1]

“ “The “String of Pearls” describes the manifestation of China’s rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships, and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Persian Gulf.” ”

—Christopher Pehrson[2]

Chinese President Hu Jintao has stated that the goal of the PRC's naval strategy is a “harmonious ocean” and "China would never seek hegemony, nor would it turn to military expansion or arms races with other nations".[3] Some Indians fear that the string of pearls may put India at a military disadvantage,[4] and that India's lack of a grand strategy lets China develop relationships with the other countries in the region.[5]



___________




China’s String of Pearls Policy: A Perspective (http://kumar-theloneranger.blogspot.com/2007/10/chinas-string-of-pearls-policy.html)

[DMac]

'Pakistan troops violate ceasefire' (http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/May/6/-pakistan-troops-violate-ceasefire--51.asp)
Poonch, May 5: Army on Thursday claimed that the Pakistani troops today fired rocket-propelled grenades and opened fire from Medium Machine Guns (MMGs) and small arms on Indian posts along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire. They fired RPGs and opened MMG and small arms firing on 3 Indian forward posts in Krishna Gati sub-sector in Poonch district," a senior Army Officer of 16 Corps said.

The RPGs coupled with small, medium arms firing was targetted at the Indian posts of Kranti, Ravi and Nangi from Pakistan's posts of Peepal, Pattal, Daku and Burji by 653 Mujahideen Regiment of Pakistan.

They fired 12 PRGs, over 500 rounds Medium Machine Gun beside small arms firing from 1525 to 1600 hours, the officer said adding the Indian troops fired back but refrained from using heavy firing.

The firing later stopped, he said adding the Indian Army, using the hoteline, has registered a strong protest with its Pakistani counterpart over the ceasefire violation. Pakistan had violated ceasefire and fired on Indian positions in Poonch on April 22 and 24.



2 PaK MINISTERS RESIGN (http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/May/6/2-pak-ministers-resign-76.asp)

PAK CAUTIONS INDIA (http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/May/6/pak-cautions-india-44.asp?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter)

[Horn]

India to pay for Iran oil in Euro

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-02-04/india-business/28357951_1_payments-for-iranian-crude-eih-bank-asian-clearing-union

[osoab]

Sorry, had to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR_HWMzgyc