Amid setback in Ladakh, Xi Jinping may order PLA to launch ‘another brutal purge’ against India: Report

A US magazine heaped praise on the Indian forces for not giving the advantage to much-hyped China’s People's Liberation Army in eastern Ladakh.

Washington: A leading US magazine has termed Chinese President Xi Jinping as the ‘architect' of People’s Liberation Army’s aggressive moves against India in the eastern Ladakh sector and said that the ‘flopped’ high-profile incursions will have 'consequences'.

The article published in Newsweek claimed that the Chinese President, who is also the head of China’s Communist Party, is expected to order PLA to launch "another brutal purge" against Indian positions in Ladakh.

“Unfortunately for Xi, he is the "architect" of these aggressive moves into India and his People's Liberation Army (PLA) has unexpectedly flopped. The Chinese army's failures on the Indian border will have consequences,” it said.

The editorial further reported that PLA’s failure gives an opportunity to Xi, who is also the chairman of the Party's Central Military Commission, to remove the adversaries and appoint his loyalists in the PLA. It also warned that the Chinese military’s set back along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), ‘motivates’ the Chinese president to launch another offensive at the Indian forces.

"More important, the failures motivate China's aggressive ruler- who as chairman of the Party's Central Military Commission, is the leader of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the ruling Communist Party of China - to launch another offensive against Indian positions,” the magazine warned.

The editorial also heaped praise on the Indian forces for not giving the advantage to much-hyped China’s PLA.

Citing Cleo Paskal of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the magazine noted, “India is not giving the invaders the opportunity to improve,” adding that India's troops are displaying “newfound boldness”.

“The setback in the Himalayas poses problems for Xi, which means it poses a problem for everyone else,” it added.

India and Chinese armies are entangled in months-long standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Following recent confrontation around the southern bank of the Pangong lake, India further bolstered its military presence in the region by deploying additional troops, tanks and other weaponry.

Amidst the tense situation at the LAC, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10 met on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Moscow. Both the leaders reached an agreement to resolve the border row restore peace along the LAC.