Indian media "Asian Defense Security" recently announced that by 2030, the Indian Navy will have 300 "BrahMos" supersonic cruise missiles, which can be installed on more than 30 destroyers and frigates. This will be a "decisive step".
The Indian media even claimed that this would change the balance of power in the Arab Sea and the Indian Ocean.China aircraft carriers no longer travel unimpeded in the Indian Ocean。 This argument is only part of a series of recent confident declarations by India.
Behind India’s confidence, there is a huge gap in power and propaganda.
India’s media and experts have often shown strong confidence, and there is even a view that China is “fearful” of a conflict with India. Recently, experts in India asked the question: “Does China know India is the strongest in Asia?”
The Indian army is indeed huge, with about 1.3 million active soldiers, 1.1 million reserves and more than 4,000 tanks. The Navy has 550,000, two aircraft carriers and ten submarines; the Air Force has 140,000, and about eight hundred warplanes.
The 2025 World Air Force Ranking published by the US WDMMA website ranks India third, after the US and Russia, and China is even ranked fourth. This ranking obviously provides a "basis" for India's self-confidence.
ButThe numbers and rankings do not fully reflect reality.。In the India-Pakistan conflict that occurred in May 2025, the Indian Air Force deployed 80 fighter jets, but Pakistan had only 45 to fight. As a result, Pakistan shot down six Indian fighter jets without injuring itself.
The "BrahMos" missile equipped by India is called the "gold standard" by Indian media. Indian media claim that its speed reaches Mach 3, its terminal flight height can be reduced to 3-10 meters, and its accuracy is as high as 1 meter. Indian media boast that this missile can prevent Chinese aircraft carriers from moving freely in the Indian Ocean.
However, the actual performance is quite different. During the India-Pakistan conflict, India used BrahMos missiles to attack the Pakistan Air Force Base and fired at least 14 of them, but less than half of them fell into the target area, and only one may have hit. More than half of the missiles flew somewhere, and one even landed in Afghanistan.
There are serious internal problems in the Indian Army. A retired Indian major general publicly admitted: "China can defeat India in seven days". He pointed out that India's military equipment relies heavily on imports, and the core components of the T-90 tank depend on Russia. Once the supply chain is interrupted, it will be paralyzed.
In contrast to,China's military self-sufficiency rate reaches 85%80% of the budget is invested in research and development. India's dependence rate on weapons imports is as high as 60%, and the self-sufficiency rate of domestically produced "Tejas" fighters is less than 40%. This fundamental difference cannot be reflected by a simple ranking.
Why does China not choose the path of war
China didn’t choose to fight India, not because of fear of failure, but based on a deeper strategic consideration.The consequences of a China-India war would be catastrophic, not only for both countries, but for the region as a whole and for the world as a whole.
India is a big country with a population of 1.4 billion, and war will destroy its already fragile infrastructure and industrial system.One billion people losing their livelihoods could trigger a “unemployment tide”, the consequences are unimaginable.
Tens of thousands of hungry people could flood border areas overnight, and transnational crime groups could rise, including human trafficking, drug smuggling and arms trafficking.
India's domestic situation is complicated, with 22 official languages and hundreds of ethnic groups. There are potential contradictions between Hinduism and Islam, class division caused by caste system and self-respect of local forces.
Once the authority of the central government collapses, the independent armed forces of the northeastern states and the multi-faceted forces in the Kashmir region could give rise to a massive violent conflict.
At that point, the entire South Asia region may be mired in a situation of warlord melee, and the international community will have to urge the major powers to intervene to "quell the unrest".
In such a tricky situation, whoever takes over will be trapped, requiring not only huge investment of resources, but also the risk of being drawn into endless political turmoil.
Economic interdependence, war is not an option
China-India economic relations are close, with bilateral trade volume reaching $1180.6 billion in 2023-24. China is India's largest trading partner, from pharmaceutical raw materials to electronic components, and India's factory life is in China's hands.
Indian entrepreneurs have calculated that if China cuts off the supply of raw materials, India's manufacturing industry will shut down within three months.
This economic bondage makes India's border-hardening stance all the more comicalIt’s like shouting each other’s coat of clothes while hiding each other’s wallet.
In the water resources game, China has directly grasped the strategic initiative in its hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo River. India's agriculture minister privately admitted that if China closes the floodgates, farmland in northeastern India could turn into desert during the dry season.
This silent deterrence is more suffocating than the oppression of a hundred thousand armies.
China is also actively developing relations with South Asian countries. In August 2025, China signed port construction agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh, which increased the throughput of Chittagong by 41%.
Meanwhile, the establishment of the Xinjiang Railway Company meant that a “steel giant dragon” crossing the Kunlon Mountains was under construction, with the nearest line located just 15 kilometers away.
The Indian intelligence department that after the railway was opened, the Liberal Army's heavy equipment delivery time at the border would be shortened by 80 percent, and a daily capacity of 10,000 tons would be enough to support the reformers for 48 hours across 5,000 meters.
China’s strategic choice, wisdom rather than cowardice
China has adopted a more integrated approach. In the border areas, its new high-altitude combat equipment has been updated for three generations, drones patrol 24 hours a day, and winter supplies are no longer a problem. Indian soldiers still worry about cold-proof tents and hot food.
China has built a road network in southern Tibet that allows troops to be mobile in two hours, while more than 60 per cent of India's infrastructure projects in the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" are stalled because of funding shortages and bureaucratic corruption.
When the Chinese bulldozers blasted over the highlands day and night, Indian engineers are still writing an application report for the fuel quota of an excavator.
In southern Tibet, China adopts the strategy of "hard connectivity + soft presence" and gradually strengthens actual control through road network, 5G base stations and economic investment.
In India's so-called "Arunachal Pradesh," where Chinese cellphone coverage already covers 80 percent of the country, the renminbi is more popular on the black market than the rupee, and local young people are scrambling to learn Chinese to study in China.
This border dispute, which has lasted for more than 70 years, will not end in the form of war, not because China loves war more than India, but because China understands the value of peace more than India – true peace, always based on the double foundation of strength and wisdom.
"Ministry of National Defense: China and India should jointly maintain peace and tranquility in border areas"-People's Daily Online 2025-08-29 09:18