India China Clash - Collateral Damage

 

There has been a marked shift in the rhetoric coming out of China in the past few days. While on the surface there does not seem to be any change in the aggressive posturing that the CCP usually adopts, one can detect a minute shift in the stance that the Chinese are taking. 

It may be possible that the dragon has now found out that it has bitten off more than it can chew but more so from the realisation that the game was not going in its favour.  The first reverse came when the Indian army and the Ghatak commandos gave a very good account of themselves in the clash on 15th June. This incident, more than anything else put the brakes on the Chinese ambitions. The Chinese establishment were not expecting casualties. China has been building up an image of the PLA and in general its armed forces for some time now. They had carefully cultivated an image where they touted their force modernisation and their drive for expanding its scope and reach. Acquiring new bases and occupying islands in the South Pacific. How much the world bought into this image is a matter of conjecture, but a general impression among the smaller neighbours was that China had a strong modern military. 

This myth about the strength was shattered on June 15th as China suffered casualties in the skirmish with the Indian army. The CCP made it worse by not declaring PLA casualties, as then speculation was rife all over that the Chinese suffered more dead than the Indian Army. 

 It was known that China had no experience of fighting a war since their last clash with Vietnam in 1975. And they came a cropper when they were tested on the June 15th clash. This reflects on the other branches of the Chinese armed forces as well. If the PLA could not hold its own against the seasoned Indian Army, what about the PLA Navy and the Air Force? These doubts will now be raised. This is the collateral damage China has suffered. Chinese military expansionism was looked at as a sign of Chinese military strength. But with the Galwan incident, it is now clear that the PLA suffers the same vulnerabilities as any other force in the world, probably even more so.