Mentors Comments:
- Give examples of military intrusion by China in the neighbourhood.
- Highlight the economic tools used by it, to push forward the military agenda.
- Discuss the impact in India and how it can be dealt with.
Answer:
China has managed nearly double-digit growth rates since it began economic reform and opening in 1978 although slowing down in the past few years. Joining the WTO in 2001 was a turning point in China’s integration into the world system and evolve into the manufacturing hub of the world. Earning a trade surplus for decades under the export-led growth model has enabled China to accumulate forex reserve of 3.096 trillion dollars.
In 2019, the Chinese government’s official defence spending figure was 175 billion USD making China’s military budget second largest in the world behind the US.
Under Belt and Road initiative launched in 2013 China is using its economic might to develop strategic relationships and propelling itself into a potential military power in Asia.
Such a situation potential impacts on India as China’s neighbour are:
- Economic: India has a large trade deficit of around 53 billion USD with China which is the largest among its trade partners. India’s recent withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement was in concern of overflow of imports from China.
- Strategic:
- China could emerge as a direct military threat to India as has been seen in the recent Doklam standoff and other border disputes.
- China has been able to develop quality infrastructure along the border with India which may provide a strategic upper hand.
- China seems to be developing a string of pearls, which is a series of ports in the Indian ocean aimed at isolating India.
- Neighbourhood: All of India’s neighbours have joined China-led BRI except Bhutan. This may provide China with a strong foothold in the region in case of any conflict.
- Political: China could use its clout to sideline India in multilateral forums as visible in cases such as
- UN Resolution of terming Masood Azhar an international terrorist which was initially vetoed by China
- China’s opposition to India joining Nuclear Suppliers Group.
However, India has not been a silent spectator and has initiated three-fold response:
- Actively engaging China through platforms such as BRICS, SCO and informal dialogue such as Wuhan and Mamallapuram to build mutual trust.
- Initiatives such as Act East, BIMSTEC, QUAD (an informal group of India, US, Japan and Australia), Neighbourhood First, etc aimed at building its own regional and global partnerships.
- Investing in its own Military and Naval capabilities in Indian Ocean region through initiatives such as Project 75I (Kalvari class submarines), developing IND Vikrant – an indigenous AirCraft carrier, SAGAR initiative, leasing Duqm port in Oman, etc.
India and China are not necessarily adversaries in Asia rather can be engaging partners in Asian growth century. Still, India must not discount the importance of its own policy response and focus on building indigenous military power and forging regional cooperation at the same time.
Payment ID
MOJO9b01O00A90834017
Whenever writing the intro, link it with the demand or the first statement of the question.
So a brief pointer wrt “China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia” will make your intro more specific.
The overall direction of the answer is decent but the execution is not.
First of all, avoid long paragraphs and statements. It affects your explanation and overall depth of the content. You can cover more areas in bullet points than in a paragraph.
Secondly, using wither bullet points or paragraphs, always use subheadings whenever changing the direction of the discussion. Otherwise, the examiner will be reading an essay or book.
Write smaller statements.
Your discussion on String of Pearls, Maritime Silk Route, BRI, CPEC all are covered under a single statement without discussing their relevance.
While the use of the diagram is decent, but you could have made it more exhaustive with making an Indian map and showing Chinese presence all over – Indian Ocean, Neighbourhood, etc along with the Aksai Chin and Arunachal issue that you discussed in the picture.
Your writing is good.
Underline the imp elements in your answer.
The structure is decent.
Good way forward
MOJO9a02U00D28381180
Avoid this kind of intro. Show little more efforts!
Whenever writing the intro, link it with the demand or the first statement of the question.
So a brief pointer wrt “China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia” will make your intro more specific.
The overall content lacks depth.
This seems to be the summary of the actual answer required and not the answer.
You have to discuss, in-depth, about the steps that China has taken across India’s neighbourhood and the rest of Asia through its economic relations and positive trade surplus.
Whenever the question is about geo, science & tech or IR, make sure that you have a diagram.
Make an Indian map and show Chinese presence all over the region– Indian Ocean, Neighbourhood, etc along with the border issues with India.
The impact discussion is quite vague and lacks quality.
The way forward are also lacking depth.
Deepanshu you have to up your game in answer writing to get more marks. You know the direction of the questions most of the time, but you fail to give enough material in answer to do justice.
please review…
payment id:MOJO9a29300A6177473
The break between the intro and the main body is missing.
Use proper subheading when starting the main body.
Your overall direction is OK but the execution is weak.
The structure is quite a hodge-podge and there is no proper demarcation in the content.
Avoid large paragraphs. Stick to the bullet point format in your 2nd part of the answer.
Very good use of the diagram.
Work on your writing skills
MOJO9a22Y0081423116
The answer seems more like an editorial or an opinion in the newspaper, rather than a GS paper 2 answer.
The reason is that you have used small paragraphs to discuss the content while the content lacks depth and it touches the issue from just the tip.
It is a 15 mark question hence you have to give more content.
Whenever writing the intro, link it with the demand or the first statement of the question.
So a brief pointer wrt “China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia” will make your intro more specific.
Then move to your main body of the answer.
In the 1st part of the answer, use a subheading: “China gaining military advantage through economic and relations and trade surplus:” and discuss bullet points under it. Give specific examples separately in this part.
Also, whenever the question is about geo, science & tech or IR, make sure that you have a diagram.
Make an Indian map and show Chinese presence all over the region– Indian Ocean, Neighbourhood, etc along with the border issues with India.
Then move to your second part of the main body, where under the subheading of “Impact of this on India” discuss the impacts that these Chinese interventions will have on India.
This will end your main body and now you have to move on to the last part of the answer which is way forward. Use the subheading of “Way forward” and suggest the steps that India should take to counter this issue.
End the answer with a short conclusion.
Your intro and conclusions should be based on a small paragraph while the rest of the answer should ideally be written under subheading-bullet points format.
Your writing is very good and the language is decent. Hence use them to your advantage.
ID
MOJO9b01C00A90817216
*not checked*
You just uploaded it less than an hour ago and still tagging “not checked!!” Kindly avoid this. The window is of 7 days after uploading the answers. So wait for that timeframe to get over before tagging not checked.
Okay, Sir!
The only issue in the answer is a missing diagram!
That would enhance your marks here.
Whenever the question is about geo, science & tech or IR, make sure that you have a diagram.
Make an Indian map and show Chinese presence all over the region– Indian Ocean, Neighbourhood, etc along with the border issues with India.
The rest of the attempt is perfect in all sense
Your content is deep and had decent coverage.
The structure is fine and relevant.
Good use of flowchart in the 1st part. That saved a lot of space for you.
The language is perfect.
MOJO9b03K00A07920521
What are the steps taken by India wrt China’s advances?
Apart from this missing talking point, the rest of the answer is very good.
The use of diagram is decent.
The way forward should have more talking points because it is a 15 mark question.
The content in the main body is fine.
Good attempt in terms of the direction.
Check my answer