The Newsweek, a leading US magazine has published a report that states that China’s President Xi Jinping has risked his future by escalating border tension with Indian at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
For the last four months, China has been playing a series of games against India, however, these high-profile incursions into Indian territory have “unexpectedly flopped” after the Indian Army backed by a strong leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided not to back away, the report noted.
President Xi Jingping who has consolidated all the state powers in his hands has been called as the “architect” of the PLA’s aggressive moves against India. Xi has purged many important leaders within China to consolidate his position and has been called the most powerful man in China after its founder Mao Tse Tung.
The report in Newsweek states, “Unfortunately for Xi, he is the “architect” of these aggressive moves into India and his People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has unexpectedly flopped. The Chinese army’s failures on the Indian border will have consequences,”.
“More important, the failures motivate China’s aggressive ruler — who as chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission, is the leader of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the ruling Communist Party of China — to launch another offensive against Indian positions,” the magazine warns.
Since 1975 there have no causalities in the India-China border but on June 15 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of soldiers on the Chinese side died in an ambush in the Galwan Valley.
“China is thought to have suffered at least 43 deaths in the Galwan clash,” the magazine says.
Citing Cleo Paskal of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, it says the number of Chinese killed could exceed 60. “Indian troops fought back ferociously. Beijing won’t admit the extent of the debacle,” it says.
The magazine goes not to say that China did not anticipate India would go on to occupy key heights and completely misread India’s resolve. The article reads, “China’s forces were surprised when Indian troops mounted their attempt to retake strategic high points. Stunned Chinese soldiers retreated,”.
“China’s subsequent efforts to counter the Indian moves proved ineffective. At least for the moment, India’s troops, in the southernmost of the three areas of conflict, are in control of territory once in Chinese hands,” it adds
“The Ground Force does not have a track record of success in contested situations. Its last major engagement was in 1979 when, in the effort to ‘teach Vietnam a lesson,’ the Chinese troops were repelled and humiliated by their much smaller neighbour,” the magazine notes.
“India is not giving the invaders the opportunity to improve,” it says, adding that India’s troops are displaying ‘newfound boldness’.
“The game has changed,” Paskal says. “You can say the Indians are more aggressive or more aggressively defensive, but they are in fact bolder and better.”
The strong opposition India has put at the LAC has created a lot of political problem for Xi, as questions are being asked many experts think there will be a purge in the military to ensure the failures are not on Xi’s shoulders.
China thought that it could talk peace but be militarily aggressive at the same time by getting into an agreement to resolve their border row. However, India has made it very clear that talks are futile until the status quo ante is not achieved.
