At the base of the mainmast, full beneath the doubloon and the flame, the parsee was kneeling in Ahab's front, but with his head bowed away from him; while near by, from the arched and overhanging rigging, where they had just been engaged securing a spar, a number of the seamen, arrested by the glare, now cohered together, and hung pendulous, like a knot of numbed wasps from a drooping, orchard twig.
China is now Indiaâs top trading partnerâand one of its least liked. Some of China's mountain of imports into India. India and Chinaâtwo massive, neighboring Asian emerging economies, each home to over a billion peopleâare on the way to forming one of the worldâs largest trade relationships.
China sees a threat in Indiaâs developing naval relationships with Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and, most of all, America. India now conducts more naval exercises with America than with any other country. Indiaâs navy has experience, geography and some powerful friends on its side. However, it is still the poor relation to Indiaâs other armed services, with only 19% of the defence budget compared with 25% for the air force and 50% for the army.