New Delhi, July 28 -- The release of a white paper, titled China's National Defense In The New Era by the country's State Council Information Office marks an inflection point in its approach to global geopolitics. For once, it has publicly outlined its official defence policy and offered details of its military reforms and break-up of defence expenditure. The document is unsparingly critical of "power politics" as exercised by its global rivals (chiefly the US, as we can safely assume), disavows any pursuit of hegemony on its own part, and calls for its armed forces to "adapt to the new landscape of strategic competition". Even a cursory read suggests that this adaptation involves the ability to project military power across much of the eastern hemisphere. Clearly, the late Deng Xiaoping's dictum of an earlier era, "Hide your strength, bide your time and never take the lead", has been consigned to the dustbin of history. On the evidence of the paper, Beijing is finally ready to display some of the muscle it's prepared to flex in order to secure its interests. The transparency is welcome, but New Delhi needs to not only read between the lines, but also what's not mentioned at all....