The myth and reality behind the PLA
For more than a month now, China has begun a tirade against India through its publications and media. There were reports that India has not yet learnt a lesson from the humiliating defeat it suffered at the hands of the Chinese in 1962. Media reports said that India would suffer bigger losses if it continued to provoke China through its refusal to back off its troops from the Doklam sector between India and Bhutan.
A fortnight later, Chinese publications called Union minister Sushma Swraj a liar when she addressed Parliament and showed how India’s position was correct, both legally as well as strategically. China refused to acknowledge that Bhutan had asked it to withdraw from a territory. It refused to admit that it was violating an agreement that had been arrived at between India, Bhutan and China.
Lately, China even began whitewashing all version with a slickly made video aimed at mocking India and accusing it of being the culprit. This is after more than a month of constant tirade mounted by Chinese publications against India. Recently it even began mocking India by posting the video on Twitter. Through all these moves China hoped to create an impression in India that its army was all powerful which India could not fight against.
The facts, as military strategists point out, indicate the contrary. China, they say, is excellent at presenting an image that makes people believe that it is far more powerful than it really is. It knows the game of smoke and mirrors, says one such analyst.
In fact, the Chinese army has suffered defeat several times since 1962. As Rajesh Krishnan Simha points out on his blog titled ‘India Strategic Studies’ “the Chinese have conveniently forgotten that since that conflict nearly 50 years ago, it is Beijing that has suffered defeats at the hands of India, Russia and Vietnam in that order. In fact, the last time the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) faced off against the Indian Army, it had to endure the ignominy of a humiliating climb down.”
The wars listed by Simha are: The India-China conflict in 1967 in the Nathu La and Cho La area where the People’s Liberation Army lost, losing 340 soldiers against 65 for India. The Russia-China conflict in 1969 over the boundary between the two countries (Ussuri river clash). China was roundly defeated with 800 casualties against 61 by the Soviet army. The China-Vietnam war in 1979, where China mounted a full scale invasion. Vietnam fought back tenaciously, resulting in a convincing defeat of the Chinese leaving the PLA with 63,000 casualties against 26,000 of Vietnam. As Simha puts it, “After years of unsuccessful negotiations, a border pact was finally signed between the two countries in 1999.” It is the stinging defeat at the hands of Vietnam that makes the sale of Brahmos missiles more painful for China to swallow. The India China conflict during 1986-97 when China tried occupying the Sumdorong Chu area. General Sundarji, brilliantly, flew down his tanks and occupied the higher regions, leaving China with no option but to withdraw. It was a reversal of 1962, when China had occupied the higher territories and Indian soldiers on the lower levels were sitting ducks. Eventually, there were no casualties on either side, but China has not forgotten this humiliating withdrawal, but seldom speaks about it. Clearly, China has scored a self-goal. It is now in a situation of its own making. It has now advertised the conflict, with India preferring restraint to chest-thumping. The sale to Vietnam, and the ties with both Japan and the US have put China in a tighter spot like never beore.
And there are good economic and military reasons why this stand will hurt China more than ever before. But more on that in Part III. Part III tomorrow