plawolf
Lieutenant General
Umm, no. If you got pick a fight and get your arse handed to you, it doesn't make the unwashed masses flock to your cause.
The main problem with Chinese military options is that right now, it's not really worth China's while to fight.
The west, forever hostile to China, will accuse China to overreaction if China hits Indian military targets in Chinese territory, and would scream bloody murder if China hit Indian targets in India.
The most diplomatically acceptable military option would be a limited military operation targeted at the Indian troops inside Chinese territory, with gradual escalation options available to respond to any Indian counter moves.
I think the 'trap' China is worried about is that India doesn't respond to the initial Chinese military operation and play the victim card while getting some western governments to play along for the home crowd to put on a show like how India was ready to rain fire and fury on China, but was talked out of if by the peace loving westerners for the greater good or some other BS.
40 Indian nobody boarder guards getting machine gunned or turned to pink mist by artillery would be the kind of rallying point you are suggesting, and allow Modi to cement his position and entrench anti-China forces in Indian government and public leadership, while at the same time not taking too much beef for a military loss. It will also leave enough doubt for the Indian chest thumpers to think they could still take China in a fight.
That would be the worst of all worlds for China, as it would achieve nothing militarily but suffer huge reputational damage thanks to the western central media propaganda alliance; while Modi entrenches his power and make India overtly hostile to China.
If China is to use the PLA, it needs to use it in a big way to leave zero doubt in anyone's minds as to who has the overwhelming military advantage.
But right now, India is not provoking China enough to justify such a massive military response.
This latest incident may well be China starting to push back and sending India the message that China will not limit any fight to that one place cherry picked by India. And part of a general strategy by China to up the stakes by creating more flashpoints such that in the event of open hostilities, the entire boarder lights up. Thus allowing the PLA to launch a military operation on the scale it needs to achieve its main strategic objectives of cutting the Indian nationalists off at the knees and leave them with no leg to stand on to defend their reckless actions and behaviours, thereby bring down the Modi government and potentially make the Indians think twice about starting trouble in the boarders for another 50 years.
Or it may just be the natural by-product of the stand-off, where the increase in tensions and hostilities is reaching frontline troops, who are now acting more aggressively than they would have in the past.
Either way, it marks an escalation in tensions and makes all out war more likely.
