China Military Power: China has announced an increase of 7.2 per cent in its defense budget, causing its annual military expenses to reach $ 245 billion. This step has been taken towards further strengthening China’s growing military strength. With this increase, China’s defense budget has increased almost three times the budget of $ 79 billion in India. This growth has come at a time when China is expanding its military presence in the Indo-Pacific sector and is entangled in a tariff war with the US.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has targeted to increase China’s strength rapidly in the military sector. This strategy of China focuses on increasing its military dominance in the areas of ground, air, water, nuclear, space, and cyber security. China’s Navy, which has more than 370 warships and submarines. Because of this, it is considered to be the largest navy in the world. However, it can technically be weaker than the US.
Preparation to surround Taiwan
China is increasing its military presence around Taiwan and has warned the US that it will not tolerate any intervention. In addition, China is also strengthening its hold in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, which is directly a challenge for India’s security.
Challenges for India
China’s growing military power and its alliance with Pakistan can create serious security threats for India. Pakistan can challenge the military help from China, especially Navy cooperation, India’s security in the Indian Ocean. India has a huge army, but it lags behind in terms of military modernization. Due to the heavy salary and pension expenses of the Indian Army, only 25 percent of the defense budget survives for military modernization, which is insufficient compared to military forces like China.
Indian Air Force Status
The condition of India’s Air Force is particularly worrying. The Indian Air Force has only 30 fighter squadrons, while its approved capacity should have 42.5 squadrons. In contrast, China has already deployed its J-20 Stealth Fighter Jets near the Indian border and is now demonstrating 6th generation fighter aircraft. Apart from this, China is planning to give more than 40 J-35A fighter jets to Pakistan, which will lead to a challenge on two fronts.
Atom and sea power balance
In the nuclear region, China has become the fastest nuclear weapons in the world. Currently China has more than 600 nuclear weapons, and this number can exceed 1,000 by 2035. India and Pakistan have about 160-170 nuclear weapons, but China is adopting a strategy to pressurize India by giving military help to Pakistan. The China-Pakistan alliance can make it difficult for India to maintain military balance, especially when the two countries are increasing their presence in the Indian Ocean.
China-Pakistan military alliance
The military cooperation between China and Pakistan is another challenge for India. There are regular SEA Guardian military exercises between the two countries, which can endanger India’s maritime security in the Indian Ocean region. China is strengthening its hold by helping Pakistan in the Navy, which requires India to rethink its defense strategy.
What steps should India take?
Given China’s aggressive military policies and its growing cooperation with Pakistan, India needs to increase its defense budget. Currently, India spends only 1.9 percent of its GDP on defense, while experts believe it should be increased to 2.5 percent. In addition, India will have to accelerate its military modernization process, so that fighter aircraft, submarines, advanced missile systems and night-sharing capabilities can be improved. India should further strengthen its relations with coalitions such as Quad (America, Japan, Australia) to encounter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific sector.
China’s growing military strength
Due to the growing military strength of China and the increase in its defense budget, many challenges have arisen in front of India. China-Pakistan military alliances, China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean, and its expansion in nuclear power, are the cause of serious security concerns for India. India will have to be ready to face these challenges by improving its defense strategy and increasing the budget. In addition, it will also be important to strengthen regional and global cooperation, so that China’s aggressive stance can be balanced.
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