Indian decision-makers underestimate China's "daring" and determination to fight. It would not be surprising if they should have such an impression.An editorial in the state-run media outlet Global Times said.
The editorial published in the Chinese edition the daily newspaper says, "It is nearly 70 days since Indian troops trespassed the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary and intruded into Chinese territory. There has been no decisive turn around towards a peaceful resolution of the Sino-Indian confrontation so far."
The Indian army's actions have demonstrated that it wants to continue to stay on Chinese territory, forcing China to accept its conditions. Chinese state media stated, "India has clearly made a serious error in judging China's strength and determination, that no matter how long its intruding army remains on China's territory, China will only seek diplomatic solutions, and will not resort to military action against India".
"From Indian officials to their intellectual elite, many people think that China's warnings are only "verbal intimidation". The Indian media quoted Indian security officials in early August as saying that China will not risk war, and that 'it is afraid of even a small scale conflict'.
This view is quite prevalent in India."
The Global Times editorial stated, "The biggest reason for this misjudgement on the part of New Delhi is that China has not fought a war for nearly 30 years. In any country enjoying peace for a long time, there may be a certain degree of "peace" inertia, so the concerned Indian decision-makers underestimate China's "daring" and determination to fight. It would not be surprising if they should have such an impression."
"But can a (mere) impression be used to underpin such a major decision? China does not want to start a war with India, and even more wants long lasting peace, this is common people's common sense. China hopes to maintain friendly relations with India, at least normal State relations with normal goodwill. But under extreme conditions, every country will opt for war. This extreme state is when it no longer has a (second) choice," it stated.
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Blaming India for pushing China towards an extreme state unreasonably and arrogantly, the newspaper stated, "The time when war, no good though it may be, is something that has to be borne (waged) reluctantly (as a duty). India is exactly pushing China towards such an extreme state unreasonably and arrogantly. The Indian army unmistakably intruded into Chinese territory without warning, and then offered to withdraw on its own terms that would undermine China's sovereignty and national dignity".
"The PLA has not yet taken military action with a view to facilitating peaceful withdrawal of the Indian army. But when China determines that India is not going to withdraw peacefully, will it be left with any alternative to using military means to end this confrontation," the daily questions.
"The Indian government and the army must be aware of the risks they are taking. The adventure they are embarked upon is one that is a red light (brazen flouting) of international rules and also completely beyond India's capacity. They are making a fatal mistake, gravely underestimating the risk (inherent) in the situation, and overestimating their own capacity to control the overall situation by putting China under pressure, playing geopolitical games (with the help of) United States, Japan and others," the newspaper reads.
The content and tone of English and Chinese language media of China is different," pointed out Ambassador Saurabh Kumar, who Anchors a project, "India in the Chinese Media" at National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
"Many Indian officials do not seem to know (realise) that the real danger the Doklam confrontation poses to India by far outweighs the strategic risks to China. They don't appreciate the restraint exercised by the Chinese side in order to leave India with a face saving way out and arrogantly think that China has to find a way out for itself," states the editorial written in the Chinese language edition of Global Times which was translated by Ambassador Kumar.
"In Chinese culture, there is strategic tradition of taking time to strike, it being considered necessary frequently for the stronger side to exercise restraint in the initial stages of friction. Restraint provides the moral cover for the counter-attack; it is also a necessary condition for (enabling) military and psychological preparations for sure victory in battle. Strong restraint shows respect for peace and is definitely not cowardly; the explosion after (exercising) restraint is all the more a thunderbolt," the daily cautions.
"We would like to tell the Modi government that your assessment of the situation is totally wrong, and your misjudgement extremely dangerous. You can go so far as to think that your determination to prevent China from constructing a road in a 'sensitive area' can overwhelm China's determination to drive out intruders from its territory. You do not seem to be aware (of the fact) that it is the strong demand of the entire Chinese society that (our) land (violated/occupied/stood) by intruders be recovered, one which must be carried out (implemented) by the authorities, and that no (combination of) Indian and international forces whatsoever will be able to prevent us (from doing so)," the Chinese daily stated.
"Once the People's Liberation Army counterattacks, it won't be (merely) a "reciprocal counterattack"; (it will be such that) India will not be able to bear its political and economic consequences. Some of the Indian military analyses of (the situation) being advantages to India will be proven to be jokes.
Whether the Sino-Indian border will be rekindled with gunfire after a lapse of a couple of decades and whether India repeats the disastrous policy of 1962, will depend on whether New Delhi awakens (or not)." the editorial in Chinese daily added.