As senior Indian military officers are expecting a prolonged standoff in the China-India border region with the US reportedly voicing support for India, the Chinese military is demonstrating high military readiness on all fronts, as the intensive, simultaneous military exercises in the South China Sea, near Taiwan island and near the China-India border show India’s wishful thinking of taking advantage of US support is merely an illusion, Chinese analysts said Sunday.
Indian Army chief M M Naravane has briefed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on the situation in the border region after returning from his visit there on Friday, and the Indian Army is expecting the standoff to be a prolonged affair, Indian media reported Saturday.
Claiming China has deployed Su-30 fighter jets and H-6 bombers near the border region, India on Saturday deployed the Akash air defense system in Ladakh, Indian media reported.
The recent Indian moves came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the US is reducing troop numbers in Germany and deploying them to other places to “face the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asian nations,” Indian news agency PTI reported on Friday.
The US has long been hoping to play India as a card in its strategy to contain China, and it is now using India’s domestic nationalists and hardliners in the China-India border tensions, Chinese analysts said.
However, on their part, it is wishful thinking that the US is coming to their aid and will help pin down the Chinese forces in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits toprovide chances for India in the border dispute, they said.
This is merely an illusion by the Indian Army that cannot represent the Indian leadership, as the US will only take advantage of India to contain China and is unlikely to march to the frontlines themselves. This “strategic surrounding” on China is very weak, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has very high war preparedness in all fronts, but despite tensions, the risk of a large-scale military conflict remains very low thanks to the PLA’s strength and strategic deterrence, Wei said.
The PLA has demonstrated its capability to maintain high combat readiness in these different regions with intensive, simultaneous military operations, analysts noted.
Military exercises will be held in waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea from Wednesday to July 5, according to a notice released by China’s Maritime Safety Administration.
A PLA Southern Theater Command naval flotilla featuring destroyers and frigates also executed maritime operations in the South China Sea on June 18, China Military Online reported on Friday.
In the direction of Taiwan, PLA military aircraft reportedly approached the island at least eight times in June, with many missions speculatively aimed at intercepting US warplanes flying near the island.
The PLA 73rd Group Army recently held live-fire amphibious landing exercises featuring heavy weapons and equipment like the ZBD-05 amphibious assault vehicle in East China’s Fujian Province, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Friday.
All these exercises did not hinder drills near the China-India border region, as a combined brigade attached to the PLA 74th Group Army recently mobilized from thousands of kilometers away to the desert region of Northwest China for daytime and nighttime artillery strike drills, CCTV reported on Saturday.
Understanding the PLA’s capabilities in the Asia-Pacific, the US is not going to have a hot war with China, so what gave India the courage to think about doing so, Chinese military observers asked.
Main battle tanks (MBTs) attached to a brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army rumble though dirt roads in formation during a long-distance maneuver on June 18, 2020.Photo:China Military
