Most rational people do not want to face down a war, or indeed, any sort of military confrontation between two or more countries. But with the recent violent clash between India and China at the border on eastern Ladakh, the topic of their military prowess has come up.
A CNN article by Brad Lendon, the CNN.com International Homepage Editor, on Thursday opined that even though China is often considered to have a "significant military advantage over India" this might not be the case. The article quoted two studies to support its point -- that "India maintains an edge in high-altitude mountainous environments".
Additionally, the report opines that while China may "may be largely on its own facing off against India in the Himalayas", India has been "developing defense relationships with countries wary of Beijing as a rising military power". The report adds that New Delhi has grown closer to the United States in recent times.
As per a report by the Center for a New American Security, at the Himalayan frontier "Delhi possesses a clear advantage in localized military strength, but China has made significant infrastructure improvements in Tibet to enhance PLA mobility to surge troops forward, while folding the entire border with India under a single unified theater command—a major organizational restructuring that could yield an operational edge."
The Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Boston appears to concur in a report from March 2020. As the report puts it: "We assess that India has key under-appreciated conventional advantages that reduce its vulnerability to Chinese threats and attacks. India appears to have cause for greater confidence in its military position against China than is typically acknowledged in Indian debates, providing the country an opportunity for leadership in international efforts toward nuclear transparency and restraint."
The CNN report breaks it down further, looking at the various weapons available to the two countries. As it mentions, India and China are both nuclear powers, with China having more than double the number of nuclear warheads it's neighbour has. The two countries however have a "no first use" policy.
Quoting the two studies, the CNN report notes that India leaves China far behind when it comes to air-power. Not only that, but the fact that India has had to repeatedly fend off attacks from the direction of neighbouring Pakistan has given it ground-combat experience. The CNN report quotes the CNAS to say that this is something the Chinese PLA lacks. Their troop numbers however are similar.
From a financial standpoint however, China has an edge over India. To this end, it might be easier for the neighbouring country to gain new technologies and weapons.
