The badly armed Indian forces, which lacked intelligence, were surprised by the surprise of thousands of Chinese soldiers for their detachment deployed on the borders of the two countries in the western side of the Himalayas, which resulted in great loss of life on the Indian side.
French newspaper Le Point, in a report on the subject, considered that what happened was a practical Chinese response to what the Indian Minister of Interior Amit Shah said before the Indian Parliament on August 5, 2019, in the midst of his speech about the announcement of the abolition of the autonomy of the Indian state of Kashmir. "When I talk about the state of Jammu and Kashmir, I mean the occupied Pakistani Kashmir and the Aksai Chen controlled by China," he said, "These two areas belong to us, and we are ready to sacrifice our lives for that."
Luppuan correspondent in South Asia, Emmanuel Darvil, commented on the words of the Indian minister, saying that India has claimed sovereignty over Aksai Chen since the 1950s, but this is the first time that an Indian minister speaks about this demand with such force, noting that Amit Shah's tone with this statement Close to the point of declaring war.
China did not delay in responding. Rather, its Foreign Minister described - two days later - the Indian minister's statement as an allegation "unacceptable and based on no legal basis."
Preparing for a response
Since then - according to the reporter - the Chinese army began preparing a practical response to India, and - according to the Jamestown Foundation - deployed forces estimated at between 5,000 and 9,000 soldiers, along the border between Aksai, China, and Indian Jammu Kashmir.
He added that the satellite images showed Chinese truck convoys and many camps and shelters prepared from solid materials, in at least 3 locations in that region.
He pointed out that the Chinese patrols began - after preparing for the confrontation - to test the reaction of the hostile party, and proceeded to cross the borders and enter the Indian lands, which resulted in a fierce confrontation on May 5, 2020, in which no bullets were fired but punches, beatings with sticks and batons and throwing stones.
He added that the situation deteriorated on June 15, when Indian soldiers tried to dismantle a tent the Chinese had set up inside their borders, resulting in the killing of 20 Indian soldiers.
The reporter commented on the incident by saying that China used the same method it used in the war that broke out between it and India, as the Indian Prime Minister at the time, Jawaharlal Nehru, sent his forces to Aksai Chen to consolidate India's sovereignty over it, by establishing advanced military sites on the Chinese side, but China completely destroyed these sites, then drew a line that it considered to be the border line separating the two countries in this region.
The writer considered that the goal of the Chinese deployment this year 2020 is to show off the military superiority of the People's Army, and to deter Indian expansion without provoking a long war or causing a large-scale conflict, which will distract Beijing from two strategic priorities, namely Taiwan and the United States, noting that China has so far achieved its goals.
He added that the Indians realized the limitations of their intelligence apparatus, as they did not notice the massive deployment of Chinese forces and the extent of their military equipment, so the Indian Minister of Defense flew to Russia to purchase 33 MiGs and Sukhoi fighter jets, and asked the Russians to speed up the delivery of the S-400 air defense system to his country.
The writer concluded by saying that, within weeks, in June and July, China had built dozens of shelters on the northern borders of Bang Aung Lake, that is, 8 kilometers inside the depth of Indian soil, adding that if this indicates anything, it indicates that Beijing intends to maintain its forces there. Within months.