< Kanwa news March 11, 1999> The latest development shows that India’s foreign policy toward China and Pakistan has finally made its way out of the shadow cast over it due to the nuclear tests of India. India has now come back onto its pre-determined foreign policy track of 'maintaining peace with the north and blocking up on the west'. That is to resolve its differences with China through the dialog and to maintain its deterrence to Pakistan through a series of military maneuvers.

This month, the negotiating groups of both China and India will resume their talks on the border issues, which were once broken off due to the nuclear tests of India. In the meantime, on March 7, India carried out the largest air force maneuver ever in the desert north of the Pakistani border area of Bulkland. In fact, it was also in the same area that India conducted a series of nuclear tests last year. With around 100 fighter planes and bombers involved, the maneuver of March 7 was the first one that the Indian air force had ever carried out in the Bulkland desert. The planes used included the Russian MiG29 and Su30 and the French Mirage2000 fighter planes. At the end of 1998, India conducted the largest military maneuver over the past ten years near the Pakistani border. Involved in that maneuver were the military forces of an army size and the Russian Tungska ground-to-air missile system.

The above movements of India indicate India’s hope to end as early as possible the impact that its nuclear tests produced on its foreign policy. India was the second country after China to make the official declaration of taking no initiative in using nuclear weapons. According to the Western military commentator, India made this promise because it takes an absolutely dominant position in the conventional fighting capabilities but it lags far behind China in the nuclear capabilities. Its purpose was to prevent any possible nuclear strikes that may be launched by Pakistan <Kanwa news John Wu>.

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