While Xi Jinping continues to live in a parallel world – a world where his PLA troops stand a chance against the might and the valour of the Indian Armed Forces, the saner voices in China have sounded the alarm. A retired Chinese General has warned the PLA about the threat posed by the Indian Army and how it can cross into China in just a few hours.
In an article published on Li Jian, retired Chinese lieutenant-general Wang Hongguang has warned the People’s Liberation Army as he claimed that the Indian Army has “doubled or tripled” its troops near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and could “easily cross into China in a few hours”.
Hongguang added that instead of withdrawing its troops from the LAC, India has “added 100,000 more soldiers in Ladakh” while it only needs 50,000 soldiers to “maintain” the LAC.
Hongguang who is a former deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region in eastern China wrote, “India has doubled or tripled its troops near the Line of Actual Control; they are mostly stationed within 50 km (31 miles) of Chinese territory, and they could easily cross into China in a few hours,” as he stressed that China should be prepared for any surprise attacks by the Indian Army.
He further noted that the upcoming Presidential Elections in the USA and “Incidents” in the Taiwan Strait may give India an opportunity to “do something big”.
The timing of Hongguang’s warning is significant as it comes at a time when both the nations are preparing for the harsh winter. Even before the winter has arrived in its full glory at the Eastern LAC in Ladakh, Chinese soldiers have started falling like snowflakes as some of the PLA troops have been stretchered off after they developed high altitude-related issues to a nearby medical camp.
A scared China has deployed its propaganda outlet Global Times to boast about the non-existent Chinese know-how of the high altitude terrain.
“In high-altitude areas, India does not have the ability to make a large number of troops over the winter, which means many Indian soldiers will face the threat of freezing temperature and the uncontrollable epidemic. Indian troops’ logistics are incomparable to that of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” whined Global Times.
On the contrary, the Indian military has already moved more than 150,000 tonnes of materials into Ladakh which includes vast quantities of ammunition, equipment, fuel, winter supplies and food.
Major General Arvind Kapoor, chief of staff of the Indian army’s 14 Corps was quoted as saying, “All the supplies that we need have already been pushed to wherever they are required.”
He added, “In a place like Ladakh, operations logistics is of huge importance. In the last 20 years, we have mastered it.” India has displayed tremendous proactiveness in preparing its troops to battle the PLA in the harsh winters keeping in mind the fact that mountain passes into Ladakh are blocked by snow at least four months every winter.
What has spooked China further is the fact that India has been fast-tracking the construction of strategic roads and tunnels all across the LAC, to counter the Chinese military’s threat with case in point being the soon to be open, Atal Rohtang tunnel which is 9 km long and sits at an altitude of over 3,000 metres, thereby making it the world’s longest high-altitude tunnel which is situated near the border with China.
While Xi Jinping refuses to read the writing on the wall, people familiar with the ground reality are now warning the PLA in order to avoid being annihilated.