China flexes muscle,India watches.

Both China and India have their own perspectives and visions about their countries.China wants to strengthes its geopolitical presence in Asia by bridging ties with Pakistan, Myanmar,South Korea,Hongkong, Malaysia,Singapore,Indonesia etc, t0  register its presence to ward off US influence.

As China perceives India,rightly so,as US’s ally it is taking care to keep India out of balance by keeping it engaged with Pakistan,by openly supporting Pakistan as well as Myanmar;Srilanka ,playing the Tamil card(Tamils constitute a State in India).

It is also increasing its infrastructural projects in Pakistan occupied Kashmir,Myanmar,Sri Lanka and surface transport in Tibet as well

It is not a comforting thought to have India as a Security Council permanent member, as it perceives India to be closer to US,UK,France and Russia.

India, on the other hand, has to tackle Pakistan , Sri Lanka Myanmar,Nepal and Bangladesh in the immediate vicinity, apart from improving relations with Indonesia, Malaysia and the countries in Asia , including Japan and S.Korea.

Hence their visions do not match.

I sense the status quo shall continue and it may not escalate into a skirmish-basically posturing and sparring.

The exception to the cheery mood was the mid-December visit of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China. Mr. Wen did secure business deals, announce new trade goals and offer reassurances of friendly Chinese intentions. But the trip also underscored that many points of tension between the Asian giants — trade imbalances, their disputed border and the status of Kashmir — are growing worse. And the Indian foreign policy establishment, once reluctant to challenge China, is taking a harder line.

“The Wen visit has widened the gap publicly between India and China,” said Ranjit Gupta, a retired Indian diplomat and one of many vocal analysts pushing a more hawkish line toward China. “And it represents for the first time a greater realism in the Indian establishment’s approach to China.”

India aspires to membership on the United Nations Security Council, and China is now the only permanent member nation that has not explicitly endorsed such a move. But what has rattled Indian leaders even more is their contention that China is being deliberately provocative in Kashmir as it grows closer to Pakistan, China’s longtime ally and India’s nemesis. China has also been expanding its diplomatic and economic influence around South Asia, stepping up its involvement in the affairs of Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives.

Mr. Wen’s visit was supposed to help address those tensions at a time when India is starting to draw closer to the United States. Among Chinese leaders, Mr. Wen is perceived as a friend of India, and his 2005 visit was regarded as a breakthrough after he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed on a broad framework to address the border dispute.

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Meanwhile, China infuriated India by starting to issue special stapled paper visas — rather than the standard visa — for anyone in Indian-controlled Kashmir traveling to China on the grounds that Kashmir is a disputed territory. China later objected to including a top Indian general responsible for Kashmir in a military exchange in China. In response, Indian officials angrily suspended all military exchanges between the countries. Indian officials had thought Mr. Wen might reverse the stapled visas policy on his trip, but he instead only called for more diplomatic consultations.

Indian commentators have noticed that articles in the Chinese state-run media have renewed Chinese claims that the disputed border between the nations is roughly 1,240 miles in length — even as India puts the length at about 2,175 miles. The difference roughly represents the border between Indian-controlled Kashmir and Tibetan China. By omitting this section, the Chinese are questioning the status of Indian-controlled Kashmir, a position that buttresses Pakistan’s own claims, several Indian analysts have argued.

The most visible evidence that these problems were deepening came in the joint communiqué issued by the two nations at the end of Mr. Wen’s visit. China typically demands that nations voice support for the one-China policy, which holds that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. In past communiqués, India has agreed to such language, but this time it was omitted, a clear sign of Indian irritation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/world/asia/30india.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22