Beijing: Be wary of China, goes the popular adage in diplomatic circles. A day after India and China military commanders held "cordial and positive" talks at Chushul-Moldo point along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi that the two countries have agreed to "peacefully" resolve the situation in the border areas by continuing the military and diplomatic engagements.

PROPAGANDA VIDEO: But even as the MEA sounded unduly optimistic, the Chinese Army has released a propaganda video showing thousands of soldiers amassing on the Indo-China border. Posted on the internet by Global Times, a Chinese State-run media outlet, the video shows hundreds of soldiers of the People's Liberation Army along with its airborne brigade going through the motions of an armed manoeuvre.

The Global Times further claimed the troops "took just a few hours to manoeuvre from Central China's Hubei Province to the north-western, high-altitude region (Ladakh).’’ Of late, China has been underscoring its ability to strike at Indian targets in Ladakh at short notice. "The entire process was completed in just a few hours, demonstrating China's capability of quickly reinforcing border defences when necessary, experts have said," Global Times reported, leaving little doubt about Beijing’s aggressive posturing. Reacting to the propaganda, defence analyst Nitin Gokhale tweeted, "Since China is bent on trying to create an impression that its terracotta warriors are ready for high altitude battle, perhaps it is time to talk about an imaginary table top exercise some military enthusiasts have authored and played out in their minds."

India's China expert Brahma Chellaney however, warned, "India extended the hand of friendship to China but that country's communist dictatorship repaid with aggression in Ladakh, resurrecting the ghosts of Mao's 1962 military invasion of India. The latest aggression is not just a wake-up call for India, it could prove the final straw."