LONDON — As tensions have risen between China and India in recent days and months, India is awash with predictions about China's impending attack on India.
Most recently, it has been suggested that China will attack India by 2012 primarily to divert attention from its growing domestic troubles. This suggestion received wide coverage in the Indian media, which was more interested in sensationalizing the issue rather than scrutinizing the claims with the seriousness they deserved.
Meanwhile, the official Chinese media picked up the story and gave it another spin. It argued that while a Chinese attack on India is highly unlikely, a conflict between the two neighbors can occur in one scenario: an aggressive Indian policy toward China on the border dispute forcing China to use force. The Chinese media went on to speculate that the "China will attack India" line might just be a pretext for India's deployment of more troops in the border areas.
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