Hissing Dragon-Squirming Tiger:

Comparisons, Negotiations

and Attitudes continues....

The diplomatic and military advantage still lies with China. By and large unknown to the Indian public, China is at a great military advantage everywhere along the Sino Indian frontier, particularly if the ‘main watershed of the Himalayan

range’ principle is applied on the ground.

This includes all possible interpretations of the LAC, possible ‘correct’ alignments of the McMahon Line, whether or not the McMahon Line is India’s ‘legal’ boundary or not.

No matter what the defined boundary is or will be eventually, there is no doubt that it will be a shorter distance away from good motorable roads, capable of taking heavy cargo lorries and trucks, on the dry and almost flat Tibetan plateau, as compared to the distance from the north Indian plains or the Assam valley.

The Indian Army will have to defend a border in steep, wet, thickly-vegetated terrain, reached after many days of travel through extremely rugged Himalayan terrain along narrow roads, and then finally having to walk, often for days, to their defences. These defences will have to be stocked with ammunition, rations, kerosene oil and water carried on human backs or on the backs of mules.

Broadly speaking, in the eastern sector, for fighting at the border itself, the Chinese only have to roll downwards a short distance from their bases at the edges of the Tibetan plateau, whereas the Indian Army has to struggle a long way uphill to just  reach there and to organize itself to fight. In the western sector too, the Chinese are much closer to their main roads on the easier country of the Tibetan plateau, while Indian troops are at the end of a long and difficult line-of-communication.

To be continued.......