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Comment by blueblisters | Hacker News Reader

The CCP is getting ever more ambitious (perhaps reckless) in the wake of the pandemic. I am not sure if it's overconfidence or calculated tactical moves. The timing of the border conflict with India is no mere coincidence -- it seems like an attempt to secure assets (CPEC) on the Western theatre in anticipation to any action on the Eastern front.

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The flareup is over 60km2 of territory on the other side of Kashmir and the CPEC highways, it's not going to have any impact on them. More likely that local forces got rowdy as infantrymen tend to do and now the higher ups are scrambling to defuse the situation. If this was an actual calculated move to take significant amounts of territory the big guns would be firing by now.

I've been reading a ton of geopolitical and military experts over the last few weeks, and there is a unanimous consensus that China never makes moves on the border without explicit instructions from the top.

Their reaction here has been paired with new movement in the South China Sea, changed messaging through proxy Government (Oli in Nepal and Pakistan at large) and claims over new land that has never been claimed by them before.

Xi is using the fallout from Corona as a way to impose China on countries that are distracted by the pandemic as of this time.

> If this was an actual calculated move to take significant amounts of territory the big guns would be firing by now.

That isn't how China works. They are well know for their salami slicing (https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/08/03/salami-slicing-in-the-s...) approach to expansionism. Their current actions are perfectly in line with previous attempts at expanding borders and signaling intent for armed invasion.

I'd like to see that list of experts and their reasoning.

Since when is Nepal Chinese proxy?

since the Maoist Govt took hold. Since Chinese promised to pay for all Nepal schools to teach Mandarin which was adopted by a lot of schools. They extended their claims on Mt. Everest. Nepal claimed new territory from India on Chinese pressure in an area which is open border. Nepal is now almost a part of OBOR. Connectivity via Tibet and lure of easy Chinese money.

Previous agreements prohibit the use of firearms on the Indo-China border even if troops are carrying them. Have a look at the weapon used by the Chinese troops to figure if the attack was premeditated.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53089037

If you are curious about China's ambitions and possible future in the wake of the American pullback from the international order, I recommend the book "Disunited Nations". It also profiles Germany, Iran, France and various other interesting places.

The US is the one refusing to sell to China here, how is China getting more ambitious or overconfident in the "chip war?"

Desperation, possibly. As I understand it, the deal between the CCP and the Chinese people was "you get rich, but you get no rights". If the economic downturn from COVID hits as hard as the doomers predict, then that deal could be over. A war could be a way of putting off the civil problems that will bring.

China would squash any civil problems out, like a bug

It's hard to say now. It might work or just got busted at the end of the day.

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