The two largest human masses Why does the world fear a war between China and India?

With the escalation of tensions between the various international powers, and the change in the maps of regional and strategic alliances during the recent period, attention is recently turned to the two giants of the Asian continent, China and India, fearing the outbreak of a huge war between the two powers, which could destabilize the entire region.

Although the relationship between China and India is constantly tense against the backdrop of the longest border disputes in the whole world, which have continued to calm down and flare up again, and cause confrontations and military skirmishes between the two sides, they have recently become an increasing concern and concern of the international community.

Last January, a clash occurred between Indian forces and Chinese forces that tried to enter Indian territory, which led to casualties, in the state of Sikkim in northern India, which is a border area between the two countries.

This clash comes after a few months of skirmishes between the two forces during the month of June 2020 in Ladakh, located on the Tibetan Plateau, which resulted in the killing of dozens of Indian soldiers.

While these clashes and continuous confrontations between the two sides are frequent on the border strip separating them, and with the ensuing developments, the forecasts of strategic analysts and experts warn of the possibility of an imminent war between the two forces.

Given the demographic and military strengths that both countries have gained, the outbreak of any war between them will have dire consequences for the Indo-Pacific region, and the effects may extend to the whole world.

Two competing forces

The National Interest, in its recent report entitled "The conflict between China and India could unleash a third world war", considered that the war between the two powers would be a devastating earthquake for the Indo-Pacific region, with thousands of casualties and severely affecting the global economy.

According to official figures and statistics, both countries have a large population of more than 1.3 billion people, in addition to India having the largest permanent volunteer army, estimated at more than 1.13 million soldiers, along with 2.1 million soldiers in the reserves, ranking fourth. The world's most powerful army.

As for China, the number of its active soldiers is more than 2.3 million, in addition to 2.3 million others in reserve, thus ranking first in the world for the most powerful armies in the world.

The two competing countries were able to build a huge military force, in the land, sea and air fields. It was home-made for Beijing, which has made remarkable progress in this, in addition to the technological development that played an important role in it, compared to New Delhi, which is still a few steps behind, and has relied heavily on strategic partnerships and military deals with regional allies such as Russia.

In addition to military and demographic strength, the two countries have the two most powerful nuclear arsenals in the world. Accordingly, experts and analysts believe that these two forces cannot be easily defeated in any war, and if a war breaks out between them, it will inevitably be devastating.

On the economic level, Beijing and New Delhi occupies advanced ranks in the global GDP ranking, thus becoming two influential economic powers at the global level.

Nevertheless, China remains far superior to the Indian economy, despite the trade partnership between them, and surpasses it by nearly five times, which is on the verge of assuming the position of the dominant global power in intense competition with the United States, and therefore any clash between them will have catastrophic repercussions on the global economy.

The longest border dispute

While the dispute between the two conflicting neighbors is intensifying, the opinions of experts and analysts suggest that these ongoing skirmishes are merely a show of strength between the two countries, and not the beating of the drums of war, because both parties are certain of the enormity of the consequences of any war that could erupt between them.

It is worth noting that both China and New Delhi are fighting cold wars and multi-front conflicts at the present time, with many international powers, each of which requires a military and demographic weight and an economic base, so some opinions agree that the possibility of a war between them is unlikely, although nothing is guaranteed. Actually in international relations.

Although these military confrontations or border clashes are frequent between them, they have mostly prevented their development from political negotiations and diplomatic maneuvers between the two sides.

The origin of the dispute between China and India is due to border disputes, mainly caused by the lack of agreement on a common definition of the concept of the “Line of Actual Control” that delineates the borders of the two countries, which extends over 4,057 km, and India estimates it at 3,488 km, while China considers it about 2,000 km, according to a statement. Previously conducted by Duygu Çağla Bayram, Strategic Researcher at the Black Sea Technical University Studies Center with Anadolu Agency.

After a major war broke out between the People's Liberation Army and the Indian Army in 1959 against the backdrop of India harboring the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, after fierce campaigns of repression launched by the Chinese government to resist Tibet. The conflict between the two sides intensified and reached its climax on October 10, 1962, to finally end with the victory of China, which subsequently declared its control over several Indian regions and imposed the Boundary Line of Control in its favour. between the two competing forces.