China’s Global Times warns New Delhi has no chance of winning war, India rejects claim

Even as India has categorically rejected China’s claim that the Indian Army crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and fired “warning shots” near the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh, its state-run publication Global Times has warned that New Delhi has no chance of winning war with Beijing.

New Delhi: Even as India has categorically rejected China’s claim that the Indian Army crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and fired “warning shots” near the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh, its state-run media Global Times has warned that New Delhi has no chance of winning war with Beijing. 

Terming Friday's meeting between Indian and Chinese Defence Ministers as a positive step, the Chinese state media had said on Saturday that in case of a border war, India will have no chance of winning. 

In an editorial published on Saturday, the Global Times, which is closely linked to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, said, "We must remind the Indian side that China's national strength, including its military strength, is much stronger than India's. Although China and India are both great powers, when it comes to the ultimate competition of combat capability, the Indian side will lose. If a border war starts, India will have no chance of winning."

"We hope that the defence ministers' meeting will be a turning point for the two countries to come back to the consensus of the leaders' meeting. Each side will make its due effort to reduce tensions on the border," the Global Times editorial said.

It, however, supported the meeting of the Defence Ministers in Moscow on Friday. The Global Times editorial opined that it looks like the Indian policies on the border are being dictated by nationalism and public opinion. 

"Indian public opinion is too deeply and widely involved in border issues. The Indian troop has been obviously kidnapped by domestic nationalism. Therefore, in addition to the joint control of the border dispute between China and India, India should also manage public opinion and nationalism, and make the best choice for its country and its people," the Global Times said.

"The problem now is that India has drawn an aggressive line on the border issue, misinterpreting China's desire to maintain peace and stability on the border as a weakness that can be exploited by threatening to wage a border war 'at any cost',’’ it added.

External Affairs Ministry has categorically rejected allegations made by China's state-run media and said that it was presenting distorted facts far from reality.

भारतीय विदेश मंत्रालय ने चीन को चेतावनी दी, कहा- 'गलत तथ्य पेश कर रहा है ग्लोबल टाइम्स' #Ladakh
https://t.co/aTDS7Fdnmz — Zee News (@ZeeNews) September 8, 2020

On the other hand, the Indian Army on Tuesday (September 8) rejected China's claim that its troops crossed the Line of Actual Control and fired “warning shots” near the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh, stressing that India is committed to disengagement and de-escalating the situation on the LAC.

Indian Army said in a statement that China continues to undertake provocative activities to escalate and at no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing. 

"It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres, while engagement at military, diplomatic and political level is in progress. In the instant case on 07 September 2020, it was the PLA troops who were attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops. However, despite the grave provocation, own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner," said the statement. 

"The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity, however, is also determined to protect national integrity and sovereignty at all costs. The statement by the Western Theatre Command is an attempt to mislead their domestic and international audience," it added.