In the 1987 Sino Indian border conflict, if there was a war, would China have won?

Mondo Military Updated on 2024-02-02

In the past, there have been many clashes of various sizes along the border between the two sides due to inexplicable provocations by Indian troops. In every confrontation, there were tenacious Chinese border warriors, with loyalty and faith to the motherland, who did not flinch and resolutely resisted the provocation of the enemy.

The most well-known is the first Sino-Indian border clash in 1962, one of the largest clashes between the two countries to date. Under the guidance of ***, the squadron resolutely counterattacked and successfully repelled the Indian army that invaded our territory in only one month.

Subsequently, larger-scale clashes included the Nathula Pass in 1967, the Dasando Valley in 1987, the border tent standoff in 2013, the Pangong Lake standoff in 2017, and more recently, the clashes in 2020. Among them, the Sino-Indian conflict of 1987, although less well known, was actually close to the brink of war.

Although at the critical moment when the war was about to break out, China and India reached an agreement in a timely manner through communication and exchanges at the political level, thus avoiding the outbreak of war. However, for China, India's sinister intentions and the hypocritical motives of the hegemonic countries behind it still need to be vigilant and decisively attacked.

Those who offend my China will be punished even if they are far away"Anyone who dares to act recklessly will pay a heavy price.

India's defeat in the war has caused a heavy loss of credibility. In 1951, the Chinese and local governments signed the "Agreement on Liberation Methods", announcing the peaceful liberation of China. This allowed ** to get rid of imperialist aggression and start a new life. However, the newly settled People's Liberation Army (PLA) knows very little about the area south of the "McMahon Line".

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country was in a state of war for a long time, and the jurisdiction of ** was negligent. After the British occupied India, they extended the spearhead of aggression to the southwest of China and **. China and India have a 1,710-kilometre border that has never been formally demarcated.

The two countries have always maintained a traditional friendship, agreeing that administrative jurisdiction and traditional customs are the precise border lines. However, after India became a British colony, it arbitrarily drew the "McMahon Line", which was never recognized by China.

After India's independence in 1947, it not only did not restore the traditional border line, but on the basis of inheriting the "McMahon Line", it took the opportunity to send troops to cross this line and began to invade Chinese territory.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to internal affairs and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, China has no time to take care of the Sino-Indian border issue. India, on the other hand, has become more and more wanton, ignoring China's first and other representations, and since 1951, it has continued to advance troops and gradually occupy Chinese territory.

In 1959, our party quelled the armed rebellion, but Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru demanded that China "return" the land south of the "McMahon Line", including more than 90,000 square kilometers, which China had never recognized, through formal official representations.

Nehru even brazenly demanded that China "return" more than 3,000 square kilometers of land already under the jurisdiction of China, including Aksai Chin. China will never agree to this unreasonable demand. India, on the other hand, insisted on going its own way, continued to cross the border and occupy Chinese territory, and was finally attacked by our armed forces at the Kongkashan Pass. India not only does not reflect, but also instigates an anti-China wave at home and slanders China internationally.

Until 1962, India established 43 bases of aggression on the territory of our country, occupying more than 4,000 square kilometers of land, the nearest of which was only a few meters away from our military outposts.

The Indian authorities got carried away in the frequent armed attacks on China, mistakenly believing that China would not go to war. Despite China's repeated back-and-forth attempts to resolve the border dispute through peaceful means, the situation changed when the Military Commission issued an order and Xinjiang's border guards went into combat readiness.

In October 1962, India amassed a large number of troops, ignored the dissuasion and warnings of the Chinese border guards, and attacked the Chinese border guards again. After receiving the order to "self-defend and counterattack", the Chinese border guards launched a fierce attack, and within a month succeeded in recovering a large amount of territory, pushing the defensive line closer to the traditional customary line.

Despite China's "peace-loving" image in November by proposing three proposals for a peaceful settlement of the border dispute and a voluntary ceasefire withdrawal, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru continued to stir up domestic sentiment, declaring a "state of emergency" and seeking military assistance from European and American countries. Then he launched a fierce offensive against our troops in mid-November.

However, in just one week, India retreated again. Our army still followed the order of ***, retreated from the ceasefire, returned prisoners and supplies, and called for a peaceful settlement of border incidents.

This rare move is remarkable in the history of warfare, with China's self-confidence and great power demeanor highly praised by the world, while India and Nehru both lost the war and were ridiculed internationally for their loss of credibility.

Looking back, it is puzzling that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has demonstrated its powerful military strength to the world in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, but why is India so confident and trying to "go head-to-head" with China? Perhaps, India's blind self-confidence has been evident to this day.

This defeat has greatly damaged the pride of the great Indian country, and although they are stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat, they have always been unconvinced to carry out frequent border provocations against China. This also laid the groundwork for the resumption of conflict between China and India in 1987.

Faced with India's provocation again, war is on the verge of breaking out.

Despite the fact that in 1962 China succeeded in achieving a military victory, the principle of "peaceful settlement of disputes" was pursued, and the retreat of the squadron from the disputed site effectively gave India firm control over southern Tibet.

During the period of British occupation, India carried out a covert invasion and occupation of China's ** region, so that the border issue of New China in this region has not been agreed in advance, and there is a lack of full understanding, so it can only formulate a new plan to solve it. Similarly, China's voluntary retreat after its victory in 1962 had a reason behind it.

When the Chinese people's army first entered the country, the south of the so-called "wheat line" had already fallen into the hands of the Indian army, and at the same time, the internal situation was unstable, China was in ruins, and the capitalist countries hostile to the international community were also paying close attention, and a full-scale war with India would be an extremely risky approach.

Therefore, after winning the war of self-defense and counterattack against India, China has constantly sought peace negotiations to recover the disputed territory and resolve the border incident. At the same time, China has also mobilized resources to strengthen ties between the interior and China, publicized party and state policies, and won the support of Tibetans. After years of hard work, after carrying out democratic reforms, we truly recognized the leadership of the party and the state and obeyed them

However, in the 80s of the 20th century, various political parties in India accepted China's peace views and hoped to maintain a normal diplomatic process with China.

Despite this, there are still some hawkish soldiers who have not subsided because of the "humiliation" they bring. At the same time that relations between the Soviet Union and China deteriorated, India turned to the support of the Soviet Union to provide it with new styles, and the United States was happy to see countries create problems for a rising China. As a result, after the Sino-Indian conflict, India received a direct triple in economic aid.

This has given India confidence, especially after India's hawkish general Sangdaji became army chief of staff. At his insistence, the new Prime Minister Indira Gandhi rejected a series of proposals put forward by ***, inheriting the "forward policy" of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in an attempt to bring shame on China by retaliating against it.

In May 1987, our army conducted patrols in southern Tibet, and a mobile patrol team formed in a combat posture arrived in the Dassandolo valley in the evening. After camping and resting, the guards were in charge of guarding the night, but suddenly noticed the light of fire and the sound of talking on the border pass on the other side of the river.

The supreme commander of the regiment, a deputy regimental commander, immediately sent troops to reconnoitre, and found that a company of Indian troops had crossed the default border line, occupied a commanding heights on our side, and had already built combat fortifications.

Since the last call of the day had passed, the deputy regiment commander decisively took countermeasures. At six o'clock in the morning of the next day, he commanded all members of the patrol to enter the position according to the attack deployment. After dawn, the deputy regiment commander personally led several people to the front of the Indian army to negotiate.

However, the Indian army once again showed their usual attitude, which was arrogant and unreasonable. When it was found that our number was small, they even raised ** to threaten our negotiators.

In the event that negotiations failed, we decided to retreat. However, when our side was retreating, the Indian army suddenly opened fire on our personnel, resulting in the deputy chief of staff who went to negotiate being wounded on the spot, and finally died of excessive blood loss.

In view of this, the deputy head of the regiment immediately ordered the initiation of **. In only half an hour, our patrol repelled the Indian company and reoccupied the previously occupied commanding heights.

However, the deputy regiment commander did not have time to think too much about it, judging that the Indian army might have a larger army to retaliate. Therefore, they further strengthened the fortifications built by the Indian army and prepared to defend against enemy attacks. At the same time, they promptly reported the situation in the Dasandolo River Valley to the regimental headquarters and the Shannan Military Division, and said that they would hold out to the last man and swear not to retreat.

Sure enough, India quickly sent reinforcement companies to retaliate, but they were quickly repulsed by our side. On the third day, the reinforced battalion of the Indian army attacked our patrol, however, with the stubborn resistance of our fighters, they eventually retreated. Subsequently, the Indian army sent fighter jets and *** and continuously increased troops in depth.

As night fell, an infantry battalion of our army was the first to reach the battle position, followed by the 53 brigade to the front. Within two weeks, the Indian army had mobilized seven brigades and a large number of heavy troops in the region to prepare for another large-scale war operation. In response to the provocation, our army sent 3 army groups and set up an advance command post in **.

Large armies of both sides lurked near the Dasandolo Valley, and a tense atmosphere of war hung around the riverside. In the midst of domestic opposition, Sang Taji insisted on pushing the line to the vicinity of the Brahmaputra River, and China and India were tense, and a major war was about to break out.

However, there are still sane people in India. At that time, the Soviet Union and the United States were in the midst of a Cold War, facing each other and having no time to focus on India. The Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan and the confrontation with the United States in the Middle East have made it unable to support India. Gorbachev had tactfully expressed this during his visit to India the year before.

The Prime Minister at the time, Rajiv Gandhi, was well aware of the fighting power of the squadron, and he did not fully trust Sangdaji's arrogant rhetoric. The results of the battles on the front line further prove that although the Indian army is equipped with new ** and has the so-called support of the United States and the Soviet Union, it is still far inferior to the squadron ** in terms of combat capability.

The main purpose of creating buzz at the border is to confuse the masses, shift focus, and create momentum to gain support. However, if it were to continue fighting, India could be discredited like Nehru.

Pakistan, which shares a territorial dispute with India, is also closely monitoring the situation. In the event of a war between China and India, it is very likely that they will go to war with India from the other side for their own interests.

In addition, China has raised a call for justice in the international community, accusing India of increasing its military budget, provoking China across its borders, and seriously injuring our soldiers. Morally, India is also at a disadvantage. The domestic people and various forces have also recognized the reality and do not support a war with China here.

For these reasons, Rajiv sent a message in May 1987 stating that he did not want "the situation in the border zone to deteriorate". In July, he made it clear in public that the report on the situation on the Sino-Indian border was a rumor created by the West, paving the way for the withdrawal.

In August, the front-line troops received an order to dismiss them from combat duty. In 1988, Rajiv took the initiative to visit China and made a high-level visit, and the border situation was eased to a considerable extent. In 1993, China and India finally signed an agreement that ensured peace on both sides of the Line of Actual Control.

As in 1962, after the Sino-Indian conflict was resolved in 1987, the Chinese side returned the bodies of Indian prisoners of war and casualties. With the lifting of the combat mission, the commanders and fighters on the front line sighed regretfully.

This time, the size and firepower of the Chinese troops dispatched by the Chinese side are more sufficient than in 1962, and if the war starts, it will have the confidence of victory, and it is expected to annihilate the main force of the Indian army in one fell swoop and recapture the land of southern Tibet occupied by India.

However, at that time, China was still engaged in a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, and it believed that it could not go to war with two countries at the same time. Although the Indian army is not strong in combat, it still poses a certain threat as a large country. In addition, the international situation is changing rapidly, and once a war starts, it is difficult to grasp the timing of the war, and there may be unexpected variables. Therefore, China still hopes to resolve this dispute through peaceful means.

Although the imminent war did not break out in the end, for India, vigilance is still needed.

First of all, the Sino-Indian border issue is deeply rooted, and due to the historical problems of the two countries, the border has not been clearly defined. Now the dispute is only temporarily shelved, because the more important task of the two countries is to develop the domestic economy and resolve the domestic contradictions.

However, sooner or later, the problem needs to be solved. India has always had a tendency to be blind and arrogant, and it is a trick that politicians have been using to divert the focus of the country's borders, and we cannot take it lightly. Second, India has long believed that it has an advantage by holding control of the Indian Ocean and being able to control China's sea shipping lanes at any time. India's self-confidence has further swelled due to the recent boom in the economy. Coupled with the provocation of some hostile countries in the world, India always wants to "get back on the ground" by competing with China. Although this blind self-confidence is somewhat ridiculous, it will always create problems for us, and sooner or later this problem will need to be solved once and for all.

In addition, for China, the territorial issue of southern Tibet has always been a thorn in the thorn, bringing pain from time to time and consuming too much energy. India's nerves are too sensitive, and it is necessary for China to address this issue once and for all and focus its resources on other issues. Although the issue of southern Tibet can be postponed, it cannot be postponed indefinitely.

China adheres to the principle that territory cannot be discarded, and countless soldiers have dedicated their youth to defend the borders of the motherland. They are industrious and do not care about the harsh conditions, because deep in their hearts they have a pure love for their country.

However, the Chinese people are not willing to give their lives in vain because of the inexplicable provocation of the enemy country. From 1962 to 2020, many fighters gave their lives because of the contradictions provoked by India. They defended the territory of the Motherland and defended the dignity of the Motherland, but such sacrifices are deeply deplorable. The Chinese people do not want to get involved in the war.

However, we should not take chances with those jackals, tigers and leopards with ulterior motives, because the Chinese people have never been afraid of war.

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