NEW DELHI: Terming Friday's meeting between Indian and Chinese Defence Ministers as a positive step, the Chinese media said on Saturday that in case of a border war, India will have no chance of winning.
In an editorial on Saturday, Global Times, which is closely aligned with the ruling Chinese Communist Party, said, "We must remind the Indian side that China's national strength, including its military strength, is much stronger than India's. Although China and India are both great powers, when it comes to the ultimate competition of combat capability, the Indian side will lose. If a border war starts, India will have no chance of winning."
The editorial said, "We hope that the defence ministers' meeting will be a turning point for the two countries to come back to the consensus of the leaders' meeting. Each side will make its due effort to reduce tensions on the border."
It has supported the meeting of the Defence Ministers in Moscow on Friday.
However, it seemed to point to the fact that Indian policies on the border are being dictated by nationalism and public opinion.
"Indian public opinion is too deeply and widely involved in border issues. The Indian troop has been obviously kidnapped by domestic nationalism. Therefore, in addition to the joint control of the border dispute between China and India, India should also manage public opinion and nationalism, and make the best choice for its country and its people," the Global Times said.
"The problem now is that India has drawn an aggressive line on the border issue, misinterpreting China's desire to maintain peace and stability on the border as a weakness that can be exploited by threatening to wage a border war 'at any cost'.
"Some in New Delhi also believe that the US' suppression of China and support for India has increased India's strategic strength and provided it with additional capital for risky adventure along the China-India border. This miscalculation has led it to a series arrogant and reckless moves on the China-India border issue," it added. (IANS)