Military option in Ladakh entails hard choices for both India and China

For both India and China, the most likely option appears to be a freezing of the status quo

Earlier this week, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat became the first senior military commander to state that if dialogue does not persuade Beijing to withdraw its troops from Indian territory in Ladakh, a military option remained on the table.

Both the Prime Minister and Defence Minister have indicated this before. Yet, Rawat’s blunt statement constitutes a clear military warning that India was ready for armed conflict if the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) did not withdraw to the positions of April 2020.

If the Indian military were left with no choice but to make good Rawat’s threat, it