Indian soldiers can't defeat us in gun battle too: Chinese daily

SNS, NEW DELHI, 22JUNE 2020: In a scathing attack on Indian armed forces, China's state- run daily Globallimes today said If Indian soldiers cannot defeat Chinese soldiers in unarmed clashes, then guns and other firearms will not help them.

"The military strength of China is much more advanced and stronger than that of India," Editor-in-Chief of the daily Hu Xijin said while commenting on the Indian government's reported decision giving "complete freedom of action" to commanders deployed along the LAC to handle situations at thetactical level and lifting restrictions on them on the use of firearms in extraordinary situations.

He said if the reports were true, the latest development seriously violatedthe Agreement on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field along the LAC in the China-India Border Areas. "Although border face-offs occasionally erupt between China and India, the troops of the two countries haven't opened fire on each other for decades. If Indian soldiers use firearms against Chinese soldiers in the future, there will be a different picture in the border areas," he observed.

The article said some Indians arrogantly believe that the modernisation of Indian troops would allow them to defeat the Chinese People's Liberation Army and take revenge on China for India's defeat in the 1962 border war.

"I' d love to tell them that there was not much difference between China and India in terms of economic strength in 1962, but today, China's GDP is about five times that of India and China's military expenditure is over three times that of India according to Western estimates. If India escalates the border dispute with China into skirmishes or even local wars, it would be like an egg dashing itself against a rock," the newspaper' s editor said.

He said China did not want to escalate conflicts with India, but it has sufficient capacity to smash any provocations from the Indian troops. He hoped that Indian troops could "remain sober" and Indian elites keep rational. It was in India's interests to work with China to put the border disputes under control. (Read: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1192452.shtml)

(Source- The Statesman- https://epaper.thestatesman.com/2723349/Siliguri-The-Statesman/23RD-JUNE-2020#clip/52939973/8e9f6ad7-95fd-4237-92ec-8b92aa43da02/384.46601941747576:753.6245494456608/topclips)