I'm afraid this is what somebody wants and it's not a good thing for China. Without going too far into politics, I can say that somebody want to sour up the China-India relationship and force India to become an enemy of China (IMO, Modi never want to be one). The Modi administration will have no choice but make up an ally against China.
Im sure the Indian high command knows its position relative to China better than anyone else. Hence India's desire for de-escalation ... if the CNN analysis is correct, shouldnt the Indian side continue or even acclerate their pressure on China?
Quick question: what makes them think that if they start something it'll stay limited?
Generally speaking i don't think carving out a piece of your rivalry's land as buffer state will really serve the purpose. First it is still going to cost you very much if you want keep that buffer state from collapse, maybe more than just building up defense at the border. Second (and more importantly), that is exactly the way to make that rivalry your mortal enemy without any hope of rapprochement, which seriously limit your strategic options in the future. When that country is someone as big as India, it is a really really bad option.
It's a better idea than being nice but seen as being weak causing the other side to incessantly test your ability to defend your land. You've only got 2 options with countries like India who are angry at their loser past but also don't know how incompetent they still are: 1. keep them scared and on the defensive, 2. tolerate attack after attack because they think they can pull something over on you since they interpret your reticence as weakness. Besides, there is no such thing as beyond rapprochement when you are powerful enough. You'd think that the US dropping 2 nukes on Japan would make their relationship beyond rapprochement. Strength solves everything; weakness is the root of all problems.
