Future War: New-Era Competition

bitterly cold, and wind-swept ridges at an altitude of more than four and a half kilometers.

No gunshots were fired. Neither side used artillery or air support. Agreements struck between the two sides in 1996 and 2005 prohibited the firing of weapons. As one contemporary report noted, “Even though not strictly coded in any rules, officers said these practices have evolved over a period of time and have been firmed as part of a routine on the [line of actual control]. Since no round has been fired on the Sino-India border in Ladakh after 1962, these routines of not firing have been drilled into the soldiers. In such an environment, every other weapon short of firing has become acceptable to use for the soldiers.”1 The PLA attackers instead used barbed wire–wrapped sticks, iron rods, clubs, and rocks in their assault on the Indian positions. Engaged in desperate hand-to-hand combat, twenty Indian soldiers were either bashed to death or, more brutally, forced over ledges to fall hundreds of feet into freezing river gorges below. China acknowledged some casualties, and while it released no official figures, as many as forty PLA personnel are believed to have been killed.2 Over the succeeding weeks, meetings between senior Chinese and Indian military leaders deescalated tensions. Reinforcements rushed to the area by both sides were eventually withdrawn. The status quo on the line of control was restored by late 2020.

Important lessons might be drawn from this instance of hand-to-hand combat on freezing high-altitude ridges in one of the most inaccessible regions in the world. First, not all warfare in the twenty-first century will feature advanced new weaponry, sensor networks, or classified systems. Humans will continue to compete and fight with the tools at hand. Warfare will employ a mix of old and new technologies—some ancient, and others almost magical in their technological sophistication.

Second, the Chinese Communist Party is challenging the status quo everywhere, even at the top of the world. Long-standing conventions in international behavior and use of military force are being challenged and breached across the Indo-Asian region. These tactics form part of China’s approach in its strategic competition with the United States.

Third, seemingly minor incidents can occur out of nowhere, and large conflicts can develop from those small incidents if the right circumstances