China-India

The Wall Street Journal on Friday said that "China and India have sent tens of thousands of soldiers and advanced military equipment to their disputed border, as troop deployments in the region reach the highest level in decades." Less than a week ago, Bloomberg said India has "redirected at least 50,000 additional troops to its border" and is implementing an "offensive defense" against China, which will give Indian forces "more options to attack and seize territory in China."

However, according to my understanding, the overall situation on the China-India border area is stable. Neither side has recently made any extraordinary military moves that could disrupt the status quo. Both sides have troop movements and training and exercises, but none of these has affected the temporary control framework of the border areas formed through several negotiations.

On the Chinese side, military deployments have entered a relatively stable phase, and China is confident that it has a firm foothold in the strategic and tactical initiative based on strength. China has military movements in the region, but they are more about the rotation of troops from the front line to the rear. Such rotation not only maintains the combat effectiveness of the frontline troops, but also exercises more Chinese troops, which is conducive to China's overall military construction.

After more than a year of engagement, China has grown mature in countering India's provocations and restraining more of its impulses. India for its part, recognizes the strength of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and China's will to defend its territorial integrity. In the past, the Indian side often underestimated the capabilities of our military and assumed that China was unable, afraid, and unwilling to use force when provoked, but their assessment couldn't have been more wrong.

China hopes that the border area between China and India will be stable for a long time. We have no intention of launching an attack on India. As long as India remains sober and does not proactively provoke China, peace will be guaranteed.

After seeing Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reports, I beleive their exaggeration is intended to set off the tension in the China-India border area and stir conflict.

What the US wants most now is to provoke confrontation between China and India, so that the two powers consume each other, and they, the Americans, can reap the benefits.

However, despite the howls of Indian radicals, I believe India has realized that as a nation it simply cannot afford to engage in a long, high-intensity confrontation with China in the border areas. After the failure of the encroachment route, they also need a peaceful and stable China-India border. Will this wish be hijacked by Indian extremists? Let's wait and see.

The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn