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C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 000684 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
C O R R E C T E D   C O P Y  -  PARA CLASSIFICATION AND NUMBER CHANGE 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PARM PM CH IN
SUBJECT: INDIA ANALYZES DOD REPORT ON CHINA 
 
REF: SECSTATE 28316 
 
Classified By: Deputy Political Counselor Les Viguerie for reasons 1.4 
(B,D) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Indian Ministry of External Affairs Joint 
Sec retary for East Asia Vijay K. Gokhale received the Annual 
Report to Congress on Military Power of the People's Republic 
of China (Reftel) with clear interest.  He expressed concern 
about China's opacity in terms of its budget and its 
intentions, pressing for the U.S. and other interested 
countries to get answers from China, as India's own dialogue 
with China forms an incomplete picture.   END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Acting PolCouns and DATT on March 31 met with Ministry 
of External Affairs Joint Secretary (East Asia) Vijay K. 
Gokhale to deliver reftel talking points.  Gokhale accepted a 
copy of the unclassified version of the Annual Report to 
Congress on Military Power of the People's Republic of China. 
 Gokhale noted that force accretion is inevitable for a 
rising power, but asked if China has the ability to deploy 
such force.  He commented that China always appears to 
downplay its military abilities, while the international 
community exaggerates them.  Capacity is a critical issue, 
but he suggested that the urgent question for India is, what 
are China's intentions? 
 
¶3. (C) Gokhale pointed out that the GOI shares U.S. views 
about the opaque Chinese budget.  India's focus is on  how 
China uses its equipment rather than how it spends.  Gokhale 
underlined that China's counter-piracy operations in the Gulf 
of Aden are legitimate and show China's capacity to deploy. 
He asked if the U.S. has examined whether there is any reason 
to believe that such legitimate actions would eventually put 
China into a position where it would be able to adopt a more 
threatening posture towards India.  China is seeking to 
establish an increasing number of bases in Africa, he noted, 
and the reasons for this are not clearly stated by Beijing. 
He maintained that if China believes its White Paper 
statement that "the periphery is peaceful," and if it has 
adequate force to eviscerate Taiwan, yet it does not have the 
capacity to target the U.S., then there is a contradiction 
between the White Paper and China's acquisitions that must be 
examined.  EmbOffs inquired about the dialogue between India 
and China on such matters.  Gokhale relayed that there is a 
dialogue track, but it forms an incomplete picture.  Even 
official military delegations don't get the same access in 
China as they are granted in India.  The Chinese troops "have 
a good political education and don't talk," said Gokhale. 
The opportunities are too few and too small. 
 
¶4. (C) Gokhale stated that China has created an impression of 
power, and it is not clear to him how the U.S. administration 
will proceed with China: he contended that the media has 
given the impression of a shift within the U.S. 
administration towards greater accommodation of China.  He 
cited the American reaction to the USS Impeccable incident in 
March 2009 as showing a "disconnect," and creating the 
impression that the U.S. feels the need to accommodate the 
Chinese.  "It looks like the U.S. is adjusting to a new 
reality," said Gokhale, adding that the U.S. response to the 
Impeccable fed into China's efforts to create an impression 
of power that might be used to coerce other nations.  DATT 
responded that the U.S. believes in open skies and open seas, 
but China does not feel the same: the USS Impeccable was in 
international waters and within the law. 
 
¶6. (C) DATT noted that the U.S. Department of Defense is 
organizing a classified China expert exchange and requested 
that the Joint Secretary reach out if the GOI is interested 
in participating.  Acting PolCouns emphasized that last 
year's quiet consultations on China between the U.S. and 
India were fruitful, and underlined that the U.S. is open to 
further dialogue. 
 
 
BURLEIGH