Recently, Indian Prime Minister Modi and Defense Minister Manmohan Singh have expressed irritating and provocative remarks on different occasions that contain China's sovereignty and national image, Modi claims that India will replace China as the industrial center of the century, and Singh says that southern Tibet is an inseparable part of India, and it seems that India is determined to fight against China.
What is even more infuriating is that the United States has also helped India to claim that southern Tibet is Indian, but "it needs to be hard to strike iron." No matter how much India's top leaders shout, it is a fact that India's comprehensive national strength is much worse than China's. According to foreign media reports, in order to deal with possible military provocations by India, the PLA has prepared corresponding troops in the Xinjiang Military Region and Tibet Military Region on a regular basis, which may include 200,000 people and 1,000 tanks, which is equivalent to the strength of multiple group armies.
The picture shows Modi and Biden talking
Chinese artillery is stronger than Indian
Artillery is the king of war, and the number, accuracy, and range of artillery are also key military resources for both sides of the Russian-Ukrainian war to engage on the front line. Compared to India, Chinese artillery is not only more numerous, but also more accurate and has a longer firing range. The PLA Army has been equipped with Type 05 tracked 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, 155 mm vehicle-mounted howitzers, Type 03A 300 mm long-range fire, and Type 191 370-mm box-type modular long-range fire, with a range ranging from 30 kilometers to hundreds of kilometers.
Among them, the PCH-191 rocket launcher appeared at the military parade for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2019, with a range of 350 kilometers, and can even launch short-range tactical missiles. The gun is upgraded on the basis of the Type 03A rocket launcher, which is specially prepared for combat operations in the surrounding India and the Taiwan Strait, and at the same time enables the Army Group to have the ability to suppress fire and accurately strike targets 100 kilometers away.
The picture shows the PCH191 rocket launcher
India, on the other hand, has achieved little success in the development and introduction of large-caliber rocket artillery, although India has also attached great importance to the development and introduction of large-caliber rocket artillery. Around 2012, India and Russia reached an agreement for Russia to transfer to India the Tornado rocket launcher, which has a range of 80 kilometers. Later, the Russian side discovered that India launched the "Pinaka" rocket launcher soon after, which obviously imitated the "Tornado" rocket launcher, but the 214 mm rocket launched by the gun had a maximum range of only 40 kilometers, which can be said to be inferior to the prototype.
As for the other barreled guns, the Indian army is even less of an opponent. The Indian Army's artillery lineup is very complex, including the old British and Soviet guns from decades ago, as well as the M777 howitzers imported from the United States in recent years, and the K9 self-propelled guns imported from South Korea. Last year, India's self-developed "Dan Ballista" howitzer also had a bore accident, and there have been many accidents before, although it is an imitation of the FH77 howitzer developed by Sweden in the 1980s, but because India's industrial manufacturing process is too poor, so the "Dan Ballista" howitzer, which has been developed for a long time, also frequently has such low-level accidents.
The picture shows the Indian "Pinaka" rocket artillery
Chinese tanks are stronger than Indian
Originally, the special mountainous and anoxic environment of the plateau in southern Tibet was not suitable for the main assault weapon of land warfare, but even in the mountainous environment, infantry engagement still relied on strong artillery support, so main battle tanks, light tanks and even armored vehicles equipped with medium-caliber artillery were all very much needed equipment.
The picture shows the Type 99A main battle tank
At present, the main battle tanks deployed by China and India near the border are Type 96A and Type 99A, T-72 and T-90S, and the guns of both tanks have a caliber of 125 mm and have the ability to fire artillery-launched missiles. However, through the "tank biathlon competition" between China and Russia in the past few years, it can be known that the reliability of the power system of Russian-made tanks is not good, and accidents often occur when the tank track "drops the chain" or the engine bursts, while the power system of Chinese tanks is more stable under the premise of ensuring mobility. As for the protection force, it is difficult to distinguish between them, but the 99A type has a higher degree of informatization and a better ability to evade threats, and it will definitely beat the T-90S in actual combat.
The photo shows the T-90 tank at a military parade in India
In addition, in 2012, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) began to deploy the Type 15 light main battle tank in Tibet, which is a medium tank with a total combat weight of 35 tons. The main gun is a 105 mm long-barreled rifled gun, which is said to be lightweight and capable of firing laser-guided projectiles, which can easily penetrate the front armor of the T-72 tank. The most outstanding thing about this tank is mobility, especially strategic mobility, which can easily be carried by the Y-20 strategic transport aircraft one at a time, and once a war breaks out, it can be quickly transported from the rear to the front line.
The picture shows the Type 15 light main battle tank
Chinese missiles are more powerful than India's
Finally, the Chinese Rocket Force's complete range of campaign and tactical missiles is even more difficult for the Indian army to match, and here we will not compare the ICBMs that strike the US mainland. At present, the DF-26 is the most powerful, long-range, and versatile missile in China's theater of operations, with a range of more than 4,000 kilometers, and if deployed in Tibet, it can completely cover the entire territory of India.
The latest "Agni" 5 ballistic missile developed by India, although it is called an intercontinental missile by the Indian army, has a range of only 5,000 kilometers, which means that it is not much farther than the DF-26, and its goal may only cover most of China's mainland. But this low-standard ICBM technology is easily intercepted by China's air defense and anti-missile missile systems.
The picture shows the DF-26 missile
More importantly, it is difficult for India to support nuclear deterrence in close proximity to the Agni-5 ICBM. At present, China has established a three-in-one nuclear deterrent capability of land, sea and air, and although the Indian Navy has nuclear submarines, its submarine-launched ballistic missiles have a very short range and can only be used as a campaign and tactical deterrent. In addition, India does not have bombers, and the Agni-5 can only be considered a long-range missile.
As for missiles with a shorter range, the Chinese Rocket Forces have DF-11, DF-15, DF-16 and DF-17, the latter of which can strike aircraft carriers. Of course, the two light aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy, the PLA is not yet guilty of striking with DF-17 hypersonic missiles, because the PLA aircraft carriers are enough to deal with it. In contrast, India's short-range ballistic missile has only one "Earth" missile, with a maximum range of only 250 kilometers, which is inferior to the PCH191 rocket launcher equipped by the PLA group army.
The picture shows the Agni-5 ballistic missile
In terms of missile guidance methods, the PLA has completely used its own Beidou global satellite navigation system, which is separated from the US GPS system, while although India does not use GPS, the self-developed Indian regional navigation satellite system still has only seven satellites after 18 years of development, which is basically a test state and does not have actual combat capability at all. This means that no matter how long the range of India's missiles is, without the guidance of a satellite navigation system, they can only be high-end "fireworks".
In short, in the face of the 200,000 troops and 1,000 tanks deployed by the PLA on the border, the Indian border guards are no match at all. We hope that the Chinese and Indian armies will not break out into border conflicts, especially escalating the war, otherwise the Indian troops in southern Tibet will really be beaten by the artillery, tanks and missiles of the PLA!
Part of the content in the article Source: Ministry of Defense: The border issue is not the whole of China-India relations Ministry of National Defense Network