Address by H.E. Mr. Song Deheng
Consul General of People's Republic of China
College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai
April 5th, 2006
Commodore. Satyen. Sharma, Director of College of Naval Warfare,
Captains and Student Officers of Course-18,
Good Morning,
This is the first chance for me to make a face-to-face interaction with Naval cadet, although I have addressed on various topics here and there since I assumed my office one year ago. So it gives me great pleasure to be here with you, even though I don't think that the theme "Indo-China Cooperation in the 21st Century", assigned by your Director, which is interested by so many strategists, politicians and diplomats, could be elucidated completely within one hour, still I feel obligated to try my best to share my view with you and look forward to hearing from you later at the panel discussion.
Brief history and status quo of our relations.
The great Chinese philosopher and educationist Confucius said, "gain new insights only through reviewing old material". So I think it is necessary to review the history of Indo-China relationship briefly before we begin to touch the actuality.
The friendly exchanges between China and India could be traced back to more than 2200 years ago when some Chinese businessmen climbed over the precipice Himalayas and arrived at India subcontinent. Since then, the footprints of businessmen, monks and envoys that shuttled between India and China linked the two great nations closer. Two great civilizations have been benefited from the close and comprehensive interactions and exchanges: India became the terminal of the world-famous "Silk Road" in its southwest direction, the Chinese people's soul was enriched by Buddhism from India and Indian people learnt how to plant and enjoy tea from China, that is the reason why even now in some areas of India, the tea is called "Cha", the same sound as it in Chinese language. Our friendship and cooperation went down to World War II when both of us were struggling for liberty from Fascistic trample. Dr. Kotnis who was dispatched together with his comrades by Indian National Congress Party to China dedicated his young life to Chinese people's liberation. Up today, 60 years after World War II, Dr. Kotnis, a loyal friend and a great internationalist fighter, is still respected highly by the Chinese people.
Similar historical experiences and common international responsibilities made it natural for our two countries to establish a fraternal relationship after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the catchword of "Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai" had been chanted over Himalayas in 1950s. Solidarity and cooperation between us ever played the indispensable role in maintaining the national independency, sovereignty integrity and economic interests of developing countries. Panchasheela, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, jointly initiated by Prime Minister Nehru and Premier Zhou Enlai, a great ideal creation to guide nation to nation relationship, is still active and practicable now.
Unfortunately, an undesirable boundary conflict suddenly interrupted the progress of our relations in 1960s', two countries therefore isolated from each other for 20-odd years until the "ice break" visit to China by Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandi in 1988, which opened a new chapter of our relations. The friendly relations between China and India hereafter have been developing constantly with the persistent efforts by the leaders for several generations and the concerted efforts of the governments and peoples of both sides.
Entering the 21st century, the cooperation between China and India in every field is witnessing strong development momentum. Nowadays, China and India are working hard to establish a "strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity" based on mutual security, development and prosperity of the two peoples; and making contributions to jointly addressing global challenges and threats. An all-round expansion of Sino-Indian economic cooperation, including trade and investment, constitutes an important dimension of stronger bilateral relations. In 2005, China became the second biggest trade partner of India with another boom of bilateral trade in the volume of US$18.7 billion. This has been coupled with the expansion of exchanges and cooperation in other fields in recent years. An "Agreement on Political Guiding Principles for Resolving the Boundary Issue", the first political document in the past 20 years which laid a solid foundation for resolving border dispute through peaceful negotiations on an equal and rational basis, was singed. The friendly exchanges between Indian armed forces and PLA are doing well. Since 1998, the formation warships of Indian Navy and PLA Navy have had couples of friendly mutual visits and held joint exercises successfully.
The rise of China is opportunity rather than threat to India.
Today, both India and China are advancing in an unprecedented course of development, which foretells certainly the renaissance of our two great civilizations and contribute hugely to the world progress. It is however regretful that there are always some suspicions and even buzzes from some corner who blinks at reality. The hue and cry are so-called: "China Collapse", "China Famine" and "China Threat" and so on. Fortunately, there is not any sign of "China Collapse" or "victims of Chinese famine pour into peripheral countries". While "China Threat" is appearing again in the form of "worries" showed in Quadrennial Defense Review Report and Report on National Security Strategy concocted by U.S.A. recently. Facing those hackneyed and stereotyped expressions, I prefer to render you some facts and data rather than to waste your time to refute those baseless hypotheses and fictive scenarios.
1. Chinese self-defensive police is unassailable. China persists in taking the road of peaceful development and unswervingly pursues a national defense policy self-defensive in nature. China's national defense is the security guarantee for the survival and development of the nation. China's basic goals and tasks in maintaining national security are:
• To stop separation and promote reunification, guard against and resist aggression, and defend national sovereignty, territorial integrity and maritime rights and interests.
• To safeguard the interests of national development, promote economic and social development in an all-round, coordinated and sustainable way and steadily increase the overall national strength.
• To modernize China's national defense in line with both the national conditions of China and the trend of military development in the world by adhering to the policy of coordinating military and economic development, and improve the operational capabilities of self-defense under the conditions of informationalization.
• To safeguard the political, economic and cultural rights and interests of the Chinese people, crack down on criminal activities of all sorts and maintain public order and social stability.
• To pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and adhere to the new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination with a view to securing a long-term and favorable international and surrounding environment.
2. The increase of Chinese defense expenditure is transparent and stable. Chinese government issues China's National Defense White Book every two years since 1996 to illustrate its defense policies and defense expenditure. Based on the economic development and revenue growth, China has continued to increase its defense expenditure moderately so as to keep up with the changes in the demands of national defense. In the past two years, the percentages of China's annual defense expenditure to its GDP and to the state financial expenditure in the same period have remained basically stable. For most of the years since the 1990s, the growth rate of China's defense expenditure has been lower than that of the state financial expenditure. For instance, China's defense expenditure in 2002, 2003 and 2004 was 21.35 billion US$, 30 billion US$ and 26.46 US$ with its percentage to GDP of 1.5%, 1.52% and 1.4% respectively. In a longer term, from 1979 to 2004, the percentages of China's defense expenditure to its financial expenditure of the same period followed a downward curve on the whole. It was 17.37% in 1979, and 7.76% in 2004, down by about 10 percentage points. The increased part of China's defense expenditure has primarily been used for the following purposes:
(1) Increase of the salaries and allowances of the military personnel. It is necessary to raise the salaries and allowances of the military personnel in step with the socio-economic development and the per-capita income rise of urban and rural residents. In the light of the unified wage adjustment policy for the personnel of state organs, China has raised the salary rates of officers, civil cadres and non-commissioned officers; the allowances of conscripts and cadets under the supply system; and the pensions of the retired.
(2) Further improvement of the social insurance system for servicemen. In December 2003, the Provisional Measures on Social Insurance for Unemployed Accompanying Spouses of PLA Servicemen was formulated, to guarantee their basic living standard and provide them with social insurance subsidies.
(3) Support for the structural and organizational reform of the military. China once again cut its military by 200,000 in 2005, and has to increase the expenses on the resettlement of the discharged surplus personnel accordingly.
(4) Increased investment in the development of high-caliber talents in the military. The PLA has established and refined an incentive mechanism for talented people, improved conditions in military educational institutions, and entrusted non-military colleges and universities with the education of qualified personnel, so as to ensure the achievement of the PLA's Strategic Project for Talented People. (5) Moderate increase of equipment expenses.
Here I want to discuss with those rowdy who reprehend "China defense expenditure is excess" on how much is not an excess defense expenditure for China, a country with 1.3 billion population, a total land area of 9.6 million square km, a border line extends for 22,800 km, territorial seas stands at 380,000 square km and a total coastline of 32,000 km need to be defended? And the theory of "opaque defense expenditure" is even more ridiculous with reference to the fact: nowhere could not be transparent within the visual field of U-2 scout.
3. In the field of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, China's basic policy and position are persistent, active and cooperative. Since the mid-1980s, China has twice downsized its military by a total of 1.9 million and the size of the PLA decreased from 4.238 million to 2.3 million by the end of 2005. The wide scope and magnitude of China's unilateral disarmament in such a relatively short period of time are rarely seen in the history of international arms control and disarmament. This has fully demonstrated the firm belief of the Chinese government and people on the arms control and disarmament cause as well as their sincere aspiration for peace and development.
As a huge developing country and a nuclear-weapon state, China has never evaded its due responsibilities and obligations in arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. Since the first day when it came into possession of nuclear weapons, the Chinese government has solemnly declared that it would not be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time and in any circumstance. Whether confronted with the nuclear threat and nuclear blackmail during the Cold War, or faced with the great changes that have taken place in the international security environment after the Cold War, China has always stayed true to its commitment. China's policy in this regard will remain unchanged in the future. At present, in nuclear, Chemical, Biological, Conventional and other fields, China has successively joined and faithfully implemented 21 relevant international arms control and disarmament treaties, protocols and conventions including Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1992 and Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996.
Dear Gentlemen, these are the reasons why I am wondering who is threatened by China? None. On the contrary, China used to be threatened, invaded, divided even subjugated by foreign countries and West Allied Forces in the old days. This is an unassailable historical fact. You people are wise. Take my advice: do not believe the so-called "China Threat" that is the unfriendly Western gimmick of containing China, simply a sort of psychological war. As a populous big country, a strong China certainly impacts on the world enormously, but China is not celestial, its development is an important component of global development with her large contributions to the sustained development of human society; one word, China is not threat but opportunity to other countries.
A handful of biased westerners are self-interest seekers. They tried every means to bully you when you were weak; now they leave no stone unturned to slander you when you are getting stronger. The so-called "China Threat" is one of their trickers in attempt to contain China. What a sharklike logic they follow!
India plus China instead of India versus China.
Dear friends, India and China are linked not only by waters and lands. As two great nations with the longest history of civilization in the world, two biggest developing countries and two neighboring countries, the friendship and cooperation is bound for us. The rise of two oriental giants surely aroused various concerns and imaginations: "only if two peoples accounting more than one-third of the world population join hands together, could we enable 21st century the century of Asia come true" is one, and "abet the rivalry between India elephant and China dragon to countercheck each other" is another. The former is right the desirable blueprint while the latter a nightmare for both of us.
I always feel uneasy whenever I heard some noises of "Chinese Threat" in India. I can sense that some Indian people including columnists, diplomats and politicians still look China as a "quasi-enemy" or a "potential rivalry" of India, and more Indian people who have been influenced by prejudice know few about China, even some elite still keep the Cold-War mentality-zero sum game--in their mind while they witness the rise of China. For these people, the best way is to visit China, to see by their own eyes what China is doing. By doing so, they'll change their comprehension of China.
Fortunately, both of our two Governments, who recognized the mainstream in both of two countries is wishing to be benefited from improving friendship and cooperation between us, are wise enough to lead the bilateral relationship on the right way. China and India's sincerity in implementing the policy of "being a good neighbor and partner" and "bringing harmony, security and prosperity to neighbors", which is conducive to strengthening mutual trust between two countries, ensuring all countries in the region embark on the road of peaceful development and create a friendly and harmonious environment together. We destined to be stand up on the center of world stage again after centuries of being abased and downtrodden tragedies, only if we follow the path of peaceful development and mutual benefit. After of all, compare to the longest friendly communications between our two countries for more than 2000 years, the unpleasant experience is only 1%, which should be by every means forgettable.
The year of 2006, an India-China Friendship Year declared by our two governments, is bound to be recorded in the history of bilateral annals between our two countries with a comprehensive and ambitious interaction program. On the first day of this year, as a prelude, Presidents and Prime Ministers of our two countries exchanged messages to commemorate the Friendship Year. Then series interactions in all fields including political, defence, economic and commercial, tourism, culture and academics will follow up one another alternately as planned in our two countries. In the field of politics and defence, followed by the successful visit to India by Chinese Premier last April, the exchange of high-level visits will keep going on. My friend, your Defense Minister Mukherji Sahib will visit China to continue the defense exchange at various levels, and some trans-border interactive visits and sporting activities between two armies will take place. Of course, in our preference, table tennis rather than cricket are played.
Dear friends, Sun Zi, one of the greatest Chinese military strategists who lived 2000 years ago, said in his famous military book, "Who comprehends the soul of military is always the one trying to avoid using military means in utmost". History shows that the result of war and rivalry is always a larger disaster. In an interdependent current world, we have no choice but cooperate with each other in the win-win format. Our ancestors had made the examples for us: 2000 years ago, Chinese people learnt more about tolerance, peace and leniency from those Buddhist preachers; 600 years ago, Zheng He, the famous navigator of the Ming Dynasty, led the then largest fleet in the world and made seven voyages to the "Western Seas," reaching more than 30 countries and regions, including India, in Asia and Africa. What he offered to the areas he visited was tealeaves, chinaware, silk and technology, etc. What he brought to the outside world were peace, civilization and common prosperity, which fully reflected the good faith of the ancient Chinese people in friendly exchanges with various peoples.
To build a harmonious country and then a harmonious world is not a dream but a sincere hope and unremitting pursuit of our peoples only if we are able to work for its realization heart to heart and hand in hand. I am confident that we two peoples are sagacious enough to win over any challenge, because I believe that we are more intelligent than our ancestors.
Thanks for your patience.
