Since the Sino-Indian border confrontation occurred, how the Chinese government handles the China issue and what kind of policies it adopts has become the focus of attention of the Indian media, and how the relations between the two countries develop in the new year has naturally become the "highlight of the year". "Hindustan Times" said in a report entitled "2021 Strategic Outlook" on the 29th, "For India, the arrival of 2021 means entering a new stage of uncertainty, and we must take wise diplomatic measures, hold firm determination, and never compromise on sovereignty and national interests." The article unabashedly declares that "China poses the greatest military, diplomatic, and economic challenge to India and is encroaching on India's strategic space."
India's the print news network disclosed on the 30th that India will conduct a series of military weapons and equipment tests in 2021, including ballistic missile defense systems, air-independent propulsion systems for submarine and unmanned aerial vehicle operations, and test launches of various types of missiles such as the new "BrahMos". According to the report, the India-China border confrontation has exposed India's shortcomings in UAV attack and defense, so not relying on air propulsion systems will be an important direction for India's military research and development next year. In addition, India will also equip UAVs with synthetic aperture radar, electronic information systems, situational awareness systems, etc.
Indian defense department sources told the Global Times reporter on the 30th that India has set a record for missile tests in the past six months, covering almost all models of short, medium and long ranges, and the purpose is undoubtedly to exert pressure on China during border confrontation negotiations. But he also stressed that India still adheres to the position of resolving differences through dialogue and avoiding escalating differences into disputes, and this position is not expected to change in the short term, "However, the 8 rounds of military commander-level talks held so far show that the two sides have not yet reached agreement on key issues such as disengagement and the establishment of a buffer zone."
Indian Defense Minister Singh also said in an exclusive interview with Indian media on the 30th that the India-China border confrontation negotiations have not yet made progress. India's Asia International News Agency said china and India had so far held several rounds of dialogue at the military and diplomatic levels aimed at defusing the border conflict, "but without any substantive results." Singh said that if the status quo continues, the Indian army will not reduce the deployment of troops and equipment, but if the situation is alleviated, the Indian army will reduce the deployment accordingly. He stressed that a new round of military commander-level talks could be held at any time, "the two countries are in close communication on this issue", and "our expectation is that some positive results can be achieved through negotiations".
"Hindustan Times" reported a few days ago that because the commander of China's western theater, Yi Shuai, took time to take office, the new round of military commander-level dialogue between India and China was postponed. The Indian government's anonymous senior official said that the 20th meeting of the India-China Border Consultation and Coordination Working Mechanism ended in a positive manner, which is crucial for the new round of military commander-level talks, and it is expected that the two sides will use this round of talks to reach a written disengagement and de-escalation agreement. Another Indian military official said the talks were still ongoing and that the Indian military would remain on the front lines until an agreement was reached. The Indian side believes that China's Yi Shuai does not mean that it will change the previous tough strategy against India. The newspaper also previously quoted senior Indian military officials as saying that India had rejected the Chinese military's proposal to "designate the Ladakh 1st to 8th finger areas as military buffer zones (or no man's land)", which is not in India's interests. Before this year's border standoff, half of the 1st to 8th finger areas were under India's effective control, and India conducted "effective patrols" of the area, the senior official said. Therefore, China's proposal is in fact hoping to "let the Indian army retreat.". "If India accepts the Chinese proposal, it is equivalent to giving up the right to patrol the territory and accepting the Chinese side's line of actual control claim in disguise."
Although many Indian media mostly use a more "tough" posture when reporting on the Sino-Indian border confrontation, Indian Air Force Commander Badauriya seems to be shouting in a soft and hard way when attending the event on the 29th when talking about the Sino-Indian border confrontation. According to the Times of India, Badaurija said that from a global perspective, if China breaks out into a serious armed conflict with India, it is "not in China's interests." He believes that the confrontation that broke out in the "Ladakh region" was caused by a variety of reasons, such as "accidents caused by military leadership", and the lack of mutual trust between the two countries led to the escalation of the confrontation. At the same time, he said that China has deployed radar and surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles and other equipment in the "Ladakh region", and india has made corresponding deployments, and the Indian Air Force has maintained a high state of alert for the first-line areas. He also stressed that India must focus on improving its overall military strength and establishing a rapid and effective response mechanism.
The Global Times reporter observed that when the Indian media took stock of 2020 and looked forward to 2021, they generally had a tough mentality on the issue of Sino-Indian border confrontation, and "never compromise" is the key word that directly shows this mentality. But analysts argue that assertiveness will not actually help solve current problems. On the contrary, a pragmatic and rational approach is the way out of the current impasse in confrontation.