National flags of China and India VCG

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the China-India border to interact with troops was aimed at diverting public attention from his government's incompetence in its coronavirus response and the country's slumping economy, a Chinese analyst said. 

Modi visited a forward post in the border region of Ladakh on Friday morning, days after the June 15 border clash between Chinese and Indian troops. He told the troops, "The weak can never accomplish peace, the brave do," Indian media NDTV reported. This was the first visit of India's Cabinet Committee on Security to the region after the clash. 

Indian media called Modi's visit a "surprise," and said it was a morale boost to Indian troops, and sent a powerful message to China. 

In response, Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of China's foreign ministry, said at Friday's media briefing that China and India are engaging in dialogue on easing the situation through military and diplomatic channels, and neither side should take any action that may complicate the border situation. 

Qian Feng, the director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Friday that Modi attempted to show that he was a "strongman" on national security issues to soften criticism against him and shift public attention from his government's incompetence in the coronavirus response, and economic slowdown. 

Modi could learn about the preparations and deployment of the frontline and make preparations for the next step, Qian said. 

The move also served to show China and the international community that India is firm in its commitment to safeguard national sovereignty, although India is willing to ease the situation through a bilateral mechanism and dialogue, Qian said. 

India has the largest number of COVID-19 cases in Asia. It reported the highest single-day spike of 21,418 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 626,599.