14 September 2016

Western Media, the India Strikes and New Delhi's embrace of both Wall Street and the Pentagon

Millions of people were recently on strike in India, but our media has chosen to ignore it. While other leaders are castigated over human rights, Narendra Modi of India gets a free pass. This is even while his society is being stressed by economic upheaval and the concentration of wealth resulting from his Neoliberal economic policies. Paramilitary groups are attacking religious and ethnic minorities and yet, Modi is the new hero in Brussels and Washington. He has implemented the policies of Wall Street and now India is also embracing the aims of the Pentagon. India is a new frontline state in Cold War II.

The Indian people have not supported this and the bulk of the American population knows next to nothing about it.

Indian and US forces are beginning to train together and he has opened up Indian bases to be used by American forces for logistical purposes, staging of equipment and refueling. This of course is only the beginning. There's no telling where this will go and what exactly the US will stage within India and what operations will begin to take place.

With great anxiety Pakistan is watching the development of the Iranian port of Chabahar, a collaborative move on the part of India with Iran and Afghanistan to build a trade hub and outlet for Central Asia. This is part of the new Great Game and a case in which Iran is trying to balance its competing and sometimes conflicting interests. And yet from whatever vantage point it is a strategic move against Pakistan and a power play on the part of India. Alliances are beginning to come together, but it's complicated, they overlap and in some cases like with Iran... they conflict.

But everything can change quickly...

India's embrace of the Pentagon is also a direct affront to China, an old enemy of New Delhi. India's mortal enemy Pakistan will view this new relationship with Washington as yet another treacherous move by the false ally, the United States. Pakistan and China are being driven together and they also are collaborating in pipelines and port projects such as the Beijing funded port at Gwadar in Baluchistan. This hub serves as an economic lifeline for Islamabad and a means to circumvent US stratagems and possible tactical attempts to blockade China in Southeast Asia. The East Asian theatre of Cold War II is migrating and expanding.

The port of Gwadar is geostrategic but it is also a way to open up Western China and Central Asia by giving them access to the Indian Ocean. This is why the US continues to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean as recently demonstrated in their wresting of Sri Lanka from Beijing's sphere. These port and pipeline projects will only bring Central Asia further into the realm of peril and intrigue.

All of these struggles and tension points are connected and are part of a dangerous game that was just escalated by India's 'throwing in' with the United States.

India's move toward Washington is also a blow to Moscow, a traditional ally and long time weapons provider. It is in the Subcontinent and Southeast Asia that the United States is scoring diplomatic and economic victories against both Beijing and Moscow. The board is being set and the US has definitely gained an advantage.

Indian militarism will lead to a greater need for secrecy in the domestic sphere. Economic stresses and street-level protests will mean further state crackdowns and moves toward a police state. Touted the world's largest democracy, New Delhi under Modi is now taking significant steps away from popular rule and the stress factor for the region, and the world, has just been escalated.

The West will take great pains to keep coverage of Modi upbeat and positive. This is even while masses of his people are writhing in frustration and anger over his policies. As Christians we are particularly grieved because many of our brethren are suffering at the hands of the RSS paramilitary groups which function as the muscle of Modi's BJP.

And of course Anti-Americanism and Anti-Western sentiment in Pakistan is leading to Christian suffering.

America is building its empire, the oligarchs grow rich from weapons sales and trade deals, the 'Christians' in America that are 'plugged in' to the system reap the dividends... and the impoverished Christians of the Subcontinent suffer as a result.

In addition to downplaying the coverage of Modi and India's domestic unrest the mainstream press is ignoring the situation in Uzbekistan with the death of Karimov and perhaps of even greater significance... the growing tensions in Kashmir. That beautiful but troubled land sits right at the nexus of these tensions. It's a powder keg that could explode at any time.

If you're unfamiliar with the map, you should take a second look. Look at the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), consider the location of Kashmir, Central Asia, and the port of Chabahar in Southeastern Iran. Look at Sri Lanka and consider US machinations both in Colombo, and now in Indochina, the Straits of Malacca, Indonesia and the Philippines.

To expect China to just sit by and allow the US to encircle it is to embrace fantasy. Missile systems are being installed in South Korea. These are to neutralise not just Pyongyang but also to limit Beijing's capability. US ally and traditional Chinese enemy, Japan is returning once more to militarism. Indonesia is establishing a growing relationship with the United States, even though it has not yet been twenty years since the US-installed dictator Suharto was removed. The Philippines at the behest of the United States are making trouble for Beijing within the realm of international law and are allowing the United States to once again use their islands as staging grounds.

The Philippine's Duterte is being supported by Washington but he's been double dealing, trying to cut deals with China and has proven half-hearted in his 'duties' regarding the escalation of tension and aggressiveness toward Beijing. The US will support his violence, death squads and concentration camps if he will embrace his proper geopolitical role. The recent kerfuffle was less about his filthy mouth and more about US displeasure with his failure to be obedient. He has been warned. The US will not flinch at intervening and even overthrowing him if he won't cooperate. Like a fool Duterte is already laying the groundwork for his own demise. He ought to know that 'humanitarian' concerns are often a smokescreen for geopolitical meddling.

The region is in turmoil and these conflicts and tensions connect with the chaos that is the Middle East. The world is at present probably in a greater state of unrest and danger than we've seen since some of the more dangerous episodes during the Cold War. While the tensions were acute in 1962, 1973, and 1983, the three most dangerous moments in the Cold War, the present scene is reminiscent of the instability of the 1930s and the lead up to conflict on a titanic scale.

We need not be troubled or anxious. It is the way of the world in this fallen age. But woe to those who scheme and commit evil in order to 'do good' and woe unto those who think peace is found in strength of arms and the destruction of enemies. Those who take up the sword have abandoned the way of Christ... and they will be judged by the judgment they mete and the sword in which they hope will turn on them and become their doom.
Additional reading:

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2016/01/sri-lanka-pawn-in-asian-theatre-of-new.html

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2016/01/nuclear-india.html

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2016/01/re-establishing-us-turkey-israel-india.html

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2015/08/modi-and-indian-society-christian.html

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2014/01/india-pakistan-and-us-pivot-to-east-asia.html

1 comment:

  1. India's government is getting some negative press from Christian media such as VOM and some human rights groups on the Left. But the mainstream is paying little attention to the quasi-fascist direction New Delhi is headed under Modi. Funny, how if its a government like Turkey or Russia these types of stories will get play on the mainstream nightly news...

    Of course there are plenty of US journalists that have turned up dead too... but if you draw any connections, you're a conspiracy theorist!

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41169817

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