India can afford to lose face, not war, says China colonel

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Almost two months after Indian troops trespassed on Chinese territory, India keeps turning a deaf ear to repeated warnings from China, and even to its increasing military presence along that section of the border.

But while a war must be avoided, there is no sign that India will seek a compromise, Asia experts warn.

“(You have) these two strong governments on either side: you have the Chinese led by a strong president, and you have Prime Minister Modi. And on both sides, the nationalistic feelings have risen to a very great height with this issue,” Atul Aneja, China correspondent of The Hindu newspaper, told CGTN’s World Insight during a roundtable discussion.

“I do not think that there will be any unilateral withdrawal from the Indian side. They will look at all the consequences and I can assure you that there will be no unilateral withdrawal. The question is: then what next?”

Earlier, the Press Trust of India quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the "caution level" among the troops has been raised.

For Zhou Bo, senior colonel at China’s Ministry of National Defense, a war would be “terrible.”

“It’s not good for either China or India,” but the price to pay for avoiding conflict was much smaller for India than China, he argued.

“I know all you are thinking of now is how to save face… for China, the top priority is honor. So compared with losing in the war, it’s more affordable for you to lose face, for the Indian government this time,” he argued.

For the full discussion, tune into World Insight's Special on China-India tensions on CGTN at 10.15 p.m. BJT (1415GMT) on August 14.