Almost unnoticed and barely reported, except in some national dailies, was a news in the website of the People's Liberation Army indicating that China's aviation industry is working on a new short-takeoff, vertical-landing aircraft that is "needed for an important role in the Chinese navy's future operations" and that research and development of the fighter aircraft's engine and other components have already begun. Coming barely a day prior to the prime minister's departure to China on a historic visit, the significance of the timing of this report, whilst being of peripheral interest to the larger diplomatic and security community, has certainly raised interesting questions in the minds of those in India on whose shoulders rests the future of aeronautics.
It is by now well known that the Chinese are adept at attempting to unsettle our leaderships on the eve of significant events by indulging in proxy mind games, or worse, provocative actions. Recall the fact that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then foreign minister, was on a landmark visit to China, his hosts embarrassed him by invading Vietnam. More recently, it was during the visit of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to India that armed soldiers of the PLA intruded into the disputed region of Aksai Chin. Professor Bharat Karnad narrates an interesting facet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ready wit displayed at the time. When faced with this embarrassment, the prime minister turned the tables by asking President Xi if the PLA dominated the political leadership as it does in Pakistan. Clearly put on the defensive, President Xi professed ignorance and, not surprisingly, the PLA elements retreated the next day.
Having been at the receiving end of this diplomatic battle of wits, the Chinese may well have considered it prudent to switch from diplomatic turf to the aeronautical and technological landscape for their mind games in anticipation of the prime minister's visit. This is one area where they are sure-footed and they perceive their guest to be on soft ground. It is, after all, no secret that Indian aeronautics is fragmented and somewhat in disarray. The Chinese were no doubt aware of the contents of the report of the comptroller and auditor general of India on the indigenous light combat aircraft that was tabled in the Rajya Sabha only weeks ago. The CAG had some serious observations to make on various aspects of the management and performance of the programme, not the least with the initial operational clearance being accorded with many waivers and concessions from the requirements, deficiencies in electronic warfare capabilities, and indigenous content being a low 35 per cent, and all this after a toil of some 30 years.
One can conjure some plausible reasons why such a non-traditional approach would appeal to the wily Chinese. For one, the most reported and debated aspect of the prime minister's recent visit to France was his bold announcement of a government-to-government decision to procure 36 Rafale fighters from France in fly-away condition, when he emphasized India's urgent operational need and, hence, fast delivery. Here was possibly an opportunity for China to discreetly drive home to their guest their superiority in the field of military aeronautics and the attendant strategic and operational autonomy that this bestows on them, against India's continued dependence on others for such basic operational tools as trainer and combat aircraft.
Also, knowing full well that Modi is a zealous believer in technology as the driver of growth and prosperity and recalling what a previous Indian president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in his scientist avatar, had said about aeronautics being the most significant technological influence of modern time which empowers the nation with strength for international partnership and is a major tool for economic development, the Chinese were perhaps subtly conveying that they were more wedded to the Kalam dictum than the latter's own country chooses to do.
Added to this is their awareness of the prime minister's laudable campaign of making in India. Here again, the message perhaps being conveyed was that indigenous manufacture in aeronautics is not an activity that can be generated with the flick of a switch or the coining of a slogan. It needs a broad-based and sound ecosystem that can only be born out of a strategic vision, followed by a meticulous plan that needs determined and undivided implementation. Indeed, in the lexicon of Chinese aeronautics, the phrase, 'aeronautical patriotism', is increasingly been heard, as they believe that aeronautics is one of modern day's tickets to big power status to which they believe they have a divine right.
And finally, nothing that China ever does is divorced from its long-term strategic interests. The Chinese are deeply conscious of the fact that for the security and success of their so-called 21st-Century Maritime Silk Route Economic Belt, which would stretch from South China to Southeast Asia and beyond, air-power dominance at sea will be a crucial element. Towards this, China is currently operationalizing its first aircraft carrier, the CNS Liaoning, and developing a carrier-borne fighter, Shenyang J-15, alongside. The PLA article acknowledges that it will take considerable time before more such carriers are put into operation - hence the justification for a STOVL aircraft that will be able to operate from smaller ships. So the subtle message to those maritime strategists who debate Indian Ocean choke points and the dominance of the Indian Ocean region is that China will be ready.
Indeed, on the larger security canvas, the message that the Chinese were perhaps conveying is that a sound capability in design and manufacture in aeronautics is not just a national security imperative, but also a driver of technology and demonstrator of technological prowess of a nation, and that, in this endeavour, they are well on their way to challenging the only super power. The message that an ambitious aeronautical challenge is in the offing for their latest (and grossly expensive) STOVL Lockheed Martin F-35B will also not be lost to the American security establishment.
Grandstanding this may be, but, in the field of aeronautics, the Chinese have indeed walked the talk. This writer recalls a visit to a People's Liberation Army Air Force base in the early 1990s as part of the delegation of the then defence minister, Sharad Pawar. At the time, the defence minister was proudly shown their jet trainer, the JJ-2, and there was a tepid flying display by the J7, both Chinese derivatives of the erstwhile Soviet MiG 15 and 21 respectively. Indeed, when the defence minister later asked this writer for general impressions, having flown both these variants in the erstwhile USSR, all one could conclude was that the PLAAF had a very long way to go in aeronautics.
That was then. In the intervening years, indeed beginning from the time of the Korean War, China has used every trick in the book for advancing in military aeronautics. From licence production to reverse engineering to stealing technology, they have rapidly moved up the capability chain. Today, they have two fifth generation fighter programmes, the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31, currently under development and testing. Further, the Shenyang J-15 carrier-borne fighter is under development, with the latest STOVL now joining the list. On the civil aviation front, for commercial reasons, they are even more aggressive. The message that China is investing heavily in aeronautics is, therefore deliberate, because aeronautics has been recognized as one crucial pillar on which their strategic security interests rest.
Speaking to defence officials on an inspection visit to the air force headquarters in Beijing last year, President Xi Jinping, who is also the chairman of the central military commission, called for a stronger air force and urged the air force to adopt an integrated air and space defence capability not only to boost the country's military power but also to offer balanced strength in defensive and offensive operations. Clearly, the Chinese authorities have identified air and space to be high-priority areas not just from the military and security point of view, but also towards making a strategic plan of developing military technology, building a sound military industrial base and to use the export of military hardware not just for financing their own military expenditure, but also to further their economic, geo-political and diplomatic interests.
They are hence working towards a strategic plan in aeronautics, the vision of which talks of developing aeronautics with Chinese characteristics, which are broadly defined as technological progress, self-reliant advancement, aeronautical patriotism and priority to civil over military aeronautics. As in the case of their human space programme, so in aeronautics, the strategy towards this vision is guided and directed by the highest political leadership. Little surprise then that China has invested enormous resources, created a huge manpower base, which, in turn, has resulted in a dramatic growth in their aeronautical ecosystem in the last 15 years.
It is unlikely that the prime minister's packed agenda would have permitted the Chinese side to expose his delegation to any of this directly, but it can hardly be denied that above everything on the agenda of discussion and deliberation for the delegations was the shadow of rising Chinese military power in all its dimensions, underpinned by the country's phenomenal progress in aeronautics.
On returning from his successful overseas trips, when he does find some moments for refection, the prime minister may be tempted to open the ancient Chinese military treatise, The Art of War, attributed to Sun Tzu, a military general, strategist and philosopher, wherein he advises, "Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster". The prime minister may well consider choosing the field of aeronautics to put the wisdom of Sun Tzu to test.
The author is a retired air marshal of the Indian Air Force
