No doubt, India broke the world record yesterday with ISRO’s successful mission of launching 104 satellites at one go. It was highly appreciated all over, but Chinese media has a completely different take on it. Yes, it did compliment India on this achievement but at the same time, it pointed out some loopholes too.
It indeed reminded India that the nation has the largest number of poor in the world and that US and China are way ahead of it in terms of technology. Chinese media stated that India still lacks proper planning and systematic mission. For instance, the engine in the rocket is not powerful for supporting large scale explorations.
Tabloid Global Times reported that “On the whole, India’s space technology still lags behind the US’ and China’s. It has not yet formed a complete system.”
Although the Chinese government appreciated this achievement and expressed the desire of working closely with India on space projects, the state run media thinks differently.
The editorial read,
“India’s space technology development tends to project national image. It’s reported that India also plans to reach Venus, another programme that is suitable for media hype but lacks follow-up research. On the whole, India’s space technology still lags behind the US and China’s. It has not yet formed a complete system. For instance, the engine of its rockets is not powerful enough to support large-scale space exploration.”
China V/S India
According to the editorial, India doesn’t have a proper plan to establish a good space station and currently, there is no Indian astronaut in space. On the other hand, it referred to China’s manned space missions and stated that there were 2 astronauts from China, who spent around 30 days in Tiangong-2 space module, which will further be developed into a space station.
Further, it pointed out how difficult it was for India to achieve success in space, considering the small investment and the current technology. Highlighting the space budget of all countries in 2013, the editorial said that US had a budget of $39.3 billion, China had $6.1 billion, Russia had $5.3 billion, Japan had $3.6 billion while India just had $1.2 billion i.e. the lowest.
However, Chinese media also added that India teaches us many lessons and they are worth considering. Firstly, the country strives hard to be a great power and secondly, it considers only long term interests. Moreover, the country has established a strong presence in space technology and is under pressure due to competition from China; in spite of all this, the country doesn’t step back.
The daily concluded by saying
“India’s Achilles’ Heel is its relatively small economic scale and a weak foundation for national development. As a hierarchical society, it has both world-class elite and a largest number of poor people. Many lessons can be drawn from India. As a rising power, it has done a good job. It is ambitious but pragmatic, preferring to compare with others as an incentive to progress. India’s political and social philosophy is worth pondering.”
It seems China isn’t able to digest ISRO’s success, don’t you think so? It’s just like GRAPES ARE SOUR attitude. what’s your take on this? do share in our comments section below.
