India shouldn't play China's game in the mountains.
I listened to a Geopolitical Futures "Talking Geopolitics" podcast. According to their analysis, China's creeping offensive in the Himalayas is an effort to distract India from developing naval power.
This makes sense. The Himalayan Mountains limit Chinese ground offensives. And any Indian losses in the north can be made up by the effects of escalating at sea to block China's sea lines of communication across the Indian Ocean.
Long ago I figured India's military priority has to be its air force to support the army in the north and support the navy at sea. India still hasn't achieved that. Indian air power could operate from land bases located at very strategic places. Air power and missiles are the quickest way to add power at sea until the Indian navy can be expanded.
Meanwhile China continues to look for overseas bases for the day its blue water navy sails distant waters.
Not that India shouldn't resist Chinese incursions in the north. But the big picture is shutting down China's overseas trade.
