With accretions in the manpower and equipment and improvement in the infrastructure, will certainly enhance the offensive capability. There was always opportunity for offensive capability even before. Now, it is sort of guaranteed and fail safe. It is important to remember that the Chinese have improved their infrastructure and the capability for quicker mobilisation and logistic supply, more so with the Tibetan Railway being operational and improving.
Chinese are improving their military presence in Tibet, but their constant worry is the Dalai Lama factor on Tibetans and that would prove to be a thorn on their side in case of a conflict with India. To add to it, the Uighurs of Xinjiang are not really giving the Chinese a worthy night's sleep.
What are the objectives? Maybe some other time. It is important to understand there are objectives right along the border, then there are Intermediate Objectives and then Terminal Objectives. It all depends on what is the political aim.
As per strategic papers, there is a lament that there is no Political Aim as such.
Sir, let's take their offensive capability to be superior to ours in all forms. Will we make a stand or have an offensive doctrine so as to use some of their land as bargaining chip during post war negotiations? Will we be heavily dependent on international support in the end? We obviously cannot take Tibet or risk facing near annihilation if we do try it.
Even with internal troubles aside(we do not have a dearth of Naxals and ULFA ourselves), it will be the real ground situation against us that will have far reaching consequences. PLA can always temporarily subjugate any internal turmoil with a hammer.
Can you direct me to some good strategic papers that's available as open source. Perhaps I can pose better questions after reading them?
I have to agree that they have no political aims to go for an invasion. The current status quo on the border is to their benefit.
@LF.
With the way we are presently, Air power will not play a significant role in our war against China. We do not have capable strike platforms that could possibly scare them. As long as their air force keep ours busy, PLA will not care at all for any losses they have in the air. You can blow up all their AWACS from the sky and it will not make a huge difference on the ground. The little that we can rain down on them will make little difference, except for achieving a morale and PR victory like IAF in Kargil that we can flash in Television sets around the world.
The PLA 2nd Artillery division is more scary than PLAAF and IAF combined.