Don't bank on US support, You will be ditched, China warns India

25 Jul, 2017

State-guided Chinese daily Global Times today issued yet another threat that if India doesn't withdraw its forces from Doklam, China may get prepared for a military confrontation and resolve the conflict through non-diplomatic means. The paper reminded India as to how it had underestimated Beijing in 1962 and cautioned not to repeat the 'same mistake'. 

Global Times' strongly-worded editorial came a day after Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Parliament that there was no question of pulling Indian forces back from the Doklam territory unless China does the same. Swaraj also stated that all other countries support India's stand on the current stand-off. However, the Global Times writes that, "She (Sushma Swaraj) was lying to the parliament."

The Global Times also termed India's act on the border as incursion. It said: "First, India's invasion of Chinese territory is a plain fact. New Delhi's impetuous action stuns the international community. No other country will support India's aggression. Second, India's military strength is far behind that of China. If the conflict between China and India escalates to the intensity where their row has to be resolved through military means, India will surely lose."

The Chinese daily also refused to agree on the withdrawal of forces from the both sides, an idea that Sushma Swaraj put forward to begin the diplomatic talk. The editorial said: "India should abandon the fantasy of a long-term standoff at Doklam. China will by no means agree to the withdrawal of troops from both sides in order for talks to be held. Doklam is Chinese territory. The withdrawal of Indian troops must be a precondition for talks and China will not compromise on this stance." 

In what could be called a warning to New Delhi, it further said that "If Indian troops continue trespassing into China's territory, what Beijing may do next is to get prepared for a military confrontation and resolve the conflict through non-diplomatic means."

The Chinese mouthpiece also confirmed that what the People's Liberation Army or PLA has been doing - deployment of troops and military drills - on the border is not for show. It said: "Now that the PLA has moved in on the China-India border, they will definitely not call back troops unless they recover the Chinese territory."     

Talking about grave military escalations, the paper said: "China cannot afford to lose an inch of territory. If New Delhi remains stubborn, India should get prepared for all possibilities from a potentially grave escalation of tension in the future."    

Boasting about China's military capabilities, the Global Times wrote that the PLA's mobility and logistics capability could not be matched by that of its Indian counterpart. "PLA troops may appear in any area beyond the line of actual control that was previously controlled by India. The China-India border area may become a stage where China showcases the achievement of its long-term military development and reforms," it further stated.       

The Global Times calls the military strength compassion between India and China 'extremely comical'. "They (India) bragged that India has more troops in the area but they fail to realize that the PLA's strong capability to deploy troops can reverse the balance of power at the border within a day. The PLA's long-range combat capability can also allow its troops in remote area to provide fire support to troops at the border," it said.

Support that India has from the United States and Japan, China thinks, "is illusory". It said: "India should by no means count on support from the US and Japan because their support is illusory. If India fancies the idea that it has a strategic card to play in the Indian Ocean, it could not be even more naive. China does hold a lot of cards and can hit India's Achilles' heel, but India has no leverage at all to have a strategic showdown with China."

Talking tough on delay in withdrawing the Indian troops, it wrote: "That the later India withdraws troops, the greater the risk that it will face from a military counteraction and the more clout it will lose politically. China's military pressure on India will increase every day and India will end up losing face and be totally disgraced."