Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Photo: Reuters)
According to Gordon G Chang, the failures of the Chinese army on the Indian border will have consequences
- News18.com
- Last update: September 13, 2020 3:20 PM IST
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While Chinese President Xi Jinping has shown that he is good at political mobilization of the army and has perfected the art of intimidating other countries, he has yet to prove that his army is worth a damn in a fight, writes Gordon G Chang, author, in an article published in Newsweek.
In the article, ‘The Chinese army fails in India. What will Xi do now? ‘, Chang argues that Xi has risked his future with recent high-profile forays into Indian-controlled territory and that both the “architect” of these aggressive moves in India and his People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have failed. unexpectedly.
According to him, the failures of the Chinese army on the border with India will have consequences. “As an initial matter, they give Xi an excuse to accelerate the rate of replacement of adversaries in the armed forces with loyal elements. Hence, heads will roll, ”writes Chang.
These failures, he predicts, “will motivate the aggressive ruler of China, who as chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission, is the leader of the PLA, to launch another offensive against Indian positions.”
But can the Chinese prove their effectiveness in battle? Chang says the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force does not have a record of success in controversial situations.
“Their last major engagement was in 1979 when, in an effort to” teach Vietnam a lesson, “the Chinese launched what they called a” defensive counterattack “on Vietnamese territory and, in the process, were repelled and humiliated by their much neighbor. smaller … Now, after decades of an unprecedented modernization effort, the Ground Force is much better equipped and trained, but apparently not much more effective on the battlefield. India is not giving the invaders a chance Both sides have just accused the other of violating decades-long rules of engagement by firing warning shots. However, it seems the Chinese are the closest to the truth: Indian troops are showing a new boldness “.
India, according to Chang, has effectively abandoned these rules aimed at limiting casualties. “The setback in the Himalayas poses problems for Xi, which means it poses a problem for everyone else.”
“China’s leader has shown that he is good at political mobilization of the army and that he can spend large sums on military equipment. He has also perfected the art of intimidating other countries. Xi Jinping, however, has yet to prove that his army, in a fight, is worth shit, ”he writes.
“Other nations will find that China’s armed forces are deficient. Why is PLA less than the sum of its parts? It can be excessive political control of army operations, a problem in all communist armies, or something else. However, not putting pressure on the Indian army means that Xi’s ability to intimidate anyone is greatly reduced, ”he adds.
India and China are locked in a four-month confrontation in LAC in eastern Ladakh. Despite various levels of dialogue, there has been no progress and the stagnation continues.
Both countries have now decided to hold their sixth round of high-level military talks in the coming days. The corps commanders, the 14th Corps commander, Lieutenant General Harinder Singh and the head of the southern Xinjiang military district, Major General Liu Lin, have not met since August 2.
A senior government official told News18 that there is a complete breakdown of trust between the two armies. China has mobilized thousands of soldiers, tanks and howitzers within firing ranges of each other in the Pangong Tso-Chushul area.
Then the Indian soldiers quickly seized the tactical heights on the ridge line stretching from Thakung on the southern shore of Pangong Tso to Gurung Hill, Spanggur Gap, Magar Hill, Mukhpari, Rezang La and Reqin La (pass of Rechin Mountain), and other high altitude features near Chushul. to anticipate the activities of the Chinese army there.
Since then, the Chinese have made multiple attempts to dislodge Indian troops from the heights of the mountains.
India has also discovered that the Chinese side has begun to accumulate troops, artillery and armor in three sectors of LAC: western (Ladakh), central (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh).
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