India and China are on a collision course.
The Indian defense establishment is opposed to China's attempts to construct a road on
the Doklam plateau leading right up to the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction.
This has emerged as the major flashpoint.
It was the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan that sounded the alarm — Chinese soldiers had
arrived with bulldozers and excavators, and were building a high-mountain road near India’s
border in an area the two nuclear-armed giants have disputed over for decades.
The land in question spans 269 square km on a sparsely populated plateau in western Bhutan,
which has no diplomatic ties with China and coordinates its relations with Beijing through
New Delhi.
India responded to the call by sending troops last month to evict the Chinese army construction
party from the area.
Within a few days, Indian media were running leaked video footage of soldiers from both
sides shoving one another atop a grassy flatland.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why China cannot afford a war with India?
Lets get started.
China already has its hands full having dispute and with many countries.
China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the sea have antagonized competing claimants
Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
United States, Japan & India favors freedom of navigation as it is a very important sea
route with 5 trillion $ in trade, half of global merchant shipping and 1/2 of world’s
oil shipment pass through it.
U.S has already stepped up its military presence in the region with regular freedom of navigation
exercise challenging Chinese hegemony.
Japan has taken a more proactive military approach.
China is also dealing with the Tibetan issue and then there is Xinjiang region, which is
having the separatist movement.
India exported about US$9 billion worth of products to China last year, but imported
US$60 billion, generating a trade deficit of US$51.7 billion, according to Indian government data.
Many Chinese companies are depended on India to generate a major portion of their sales.
Chinese economy is slowing down and a conflict will result in huge adverse economic impact
Since PM Modi has come to power, he has made it a point to further India’s strategic
relations with different countries.
Russia has been India’s long term strategic ally and share border with China.
In 1971, Russia threatened China against joining Pakistan against India.
Russia has also been growing concerned about China’s long term ambitions, which is explained
in details in our previous video, kindly check the video on above card.
In a conflict, Russia is expected to put pressure on China
Indo –Israel friendship has reached a new landmark with Indian PM Modi visiting the
Israel recently.
Israel supported in Kargil war with Pakistan by supplying precision bombs and providing
valuable satellite imagery.
In any future conflict against India’s, Israel is expected to play a significant role.
Indo US relation has taken multiple strides in the last decades.
India and the US have signed an important agreement.
The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) allows them to use each other's land,
air and naval bases for repair and resupply.
US has also provided access to sate of art military hardware to India like the UAVs and
even shown interest in opening manufacturing lines in India for fighter jets like F 16.
With common interest in pushing aggressive China back, the two nations are expected to
cooperate strategically in an event of conflict.
India and Japan have moved closer, concluding the first-ever bilateral defense deal between
the two countries.
India has acquire 12 Japanese US-2 i amphibious aircraft costing 1.5 Billion USD.
This marks a significant strategic cooperation between the countries.
The specialized seaplane, the US-2i, will be Japan's first overseas military sale in
nearly 50 years.
Japan has also provided a 10% discount on the deal, signifying that the deal is not
just a trade contract but also a strategic move.
Unlike smaller counties whom China has been bullying lately, Indian has massive armed
force.
The Indian army has 1.2 million active personnel almost 1 million reserve personnel.
The army has about 4500 tanks of which around 1700 are modern Russian T 90 tanks.
A significant arsenal of artillery, armor vehicles and air defenses are also present.
Notably the Army has inducted and deployed an advanced version of the BrahMos supersonic
cruise missile to prop up its muscle along Indo-China border.
As you may already know, BrahMos is the world's fastest cruise missile in operation, and travels
at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0 and is capable of precision strikes.
Indian Airforce has more than 700 strike aircrafts of which 230 are very capable Su 30 MKI.
The air force has multiple AWACS and the fighter jets are strategically placed at multiple
well-defended airfields.
Indian Navy has vast array vessels including Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya, nuclear
attack submarine INS Chakra (Akula II class), ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant and
modern destroyers of Kolkata class.
Indian Space Research Organization has also deployed large number of satellites to gather
intelligence, which is crucial in a war.
Agni-V is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Defense Research and Development
Organization (DRDO) of India.
Though the reported range of Agni 5 is 5,800 km, it is widely believed that Agni 5 has
a range of 8000-10000 km.
Even with stated range of 5 000 km, it can hit most parts of China.
It carry a 1.5 tons warhead, has a speed of Mach 24 and accuracy of less than 10 m
Though exact details are classified, it is also widely speculated that Agni 5, feature
Multiple Independently Reentry vehicle (MIRVs), with each missile being capable of carrying
2–5 separate nuclear warheads.
It is India’s most powerful deterrence against any Chinese aggression.
An increasingly powerful and adventurous China, and a more engaged India now appear to be clashing on multiple fronts.
clashing on multiple fronts.
The tense standoff has only escalated, raising concerns in both capitals of an all-out military conflict.
Both sides have made threats while simultaneously calling for negotiations.
The U.S. State Department has urged the two sides to work together toward a peaceful resolution.
India bold stand has surprised many strategic experts and has been hailed in power quarters
in US & as well as EU.
It remains to be seen, how the standoff pans out.