China bigger threat than Pakistan: India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India faces a greater threat from China than Pakistan because New Delhi knows little about Beijings combat capabilities, Indias air force chief told a newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
The worlds two most populous nations fought a brief but brutal war over their 3,500 km Himalayan border in 1962, and both sides claim the other is occupying big but largely uninhabited chunks of their territory.
India has also been pursuing closer relations with the United States, something that worries China.
China has a standing army almost three times the size of Pakistans, according to official figures and defence industry estimates, but it is the lack of knowledge about Chinas military that concerned Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major. We know very little about the actual capabilities of China, their combat edge or how professional their military is, Major told the Hindustan Times newspaper. They are certainly a greater threat.
Although India and China have signed a treaty to maintain 'peace and tranquillity along their disputed frontier and agreed to find a political solution to the row, talks have hardly made progress even as their business ties boom.
India blames the lack of progress on Chinas claim over the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, in particular over its Buddhist enclave of Tawang. New Delhi says it cannot part with populated areas to settle the border dispute.
Monitoring Desk adds: The Indian army now wants tunnels to be dug in forward areas along the unresolved borders with Pakistan and China to provide protection to its troops from NBC (nuclear, chemical, biological) warfare as well as to store critical war-fighting equipment, reported Times of India on Sunday.
The scope of exploiting 'tunnelling technology for developing 'hardened shelters is one of the main agenda items for discussion during the ongoing army commanders conference, being chaired by General Deepak Kapoor and attended by chiefs of the seven commands and other top brass of the 1.13-million-strong force.
The proposal to construct tunnels in border areas has, incidentally, been mooted by the Udhampur-based Northern Command, the most crucial operational command, tasked as it is with guarding the Line of Control with Pakistan and the Line of Actual Control with China in the western sector.
The use of tunnels would also help in fooling enemy satellites from gauging the exact troop positions and their strength in forward areas. Instead of making visible bunkers on hilltops, it would be much better if tunnels were drilled into mountains. China has resorted to tunnelling on a large-scale along the LAC, especially in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said a senior officer, participating in the conference.
Tunnels can also be used to establish 'command and control centres to direct operations during times of war. Even helicopters can be positioned in tunnels to launch surprise attacks on enemy forces, or undertake reconnaissance missions, said the officer.