BEIJING: A Chinese academic said that China is planning a "small-scale military operation to expel Indian troops within two weeks" from the Doklam area even as an editorial in state-run Global Times on Saturday accused the Modi government of "recklessly" pushing New Delhi into war by adopting a "hard line" towards Beijing.
"China will not allow the military standoff between China and India in Doklam to last for too long, and there may be a small-scale military operation to expel Indian troops within two weeks," Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said in an article in Global Times. Hu further wrote that the "Chinese side will inform the Indian foreign ministry before its operation". However, he did not elaborate on how he had arrived at the "two-week" period.
India and China are engaged in a border standoff in the Doklam area near Sikkim since June 16 when Indian forces tried to resist Chinese attempts to build a road in an area that Bhutan claims as its territory. The road, which leads towards the Indian border, would give Chinese forces a military advantage. Global Times also continued to unleash anti-India rhetoric through its editorials when it accused Modi of "gambling" with the destiny of Indians. An editorial article said that PM Modi should be aware of the "overwhelming" strength of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
"It is a war with an obvious result," the editorial said. "PM Narendra Modi should be aware of the PLA's overwhelming firepower and logistics. Indian border troops are no rival to PLA field forces. If a war spreads, the PLA is perfectly capable of annihilating all Indian troops in the border region," the daily said.
http://m.timesofindia.com/world/china/china-may-launch-small-military-operation-against-india-in-2-weeks-chinese-expert/articleshow/59933663.cms
