China designed fighter bombed India territory! Modi keeps quiet? How did this happen?

J-20 fighter video collection, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey5s17mjM9w&list=PLofQNsLszRLJ0g-ppDdxLFY9F_T62XU3p

Rebels in Burma have told western media that the country's military government has carried out air strikes on an armed ethnic group near the Indian border. The Chinese designed JF-17 Thunder fighter bombed the Indian territory bordering Myanmar, possibly in the Champa district of Mizoram state, which drew intense media attention.

A spokesman for the group said five combat planes from Myanmar's air force carried out an airstrike on the headquarters of the Khin National Front, killing at least five fighters. The armed group claims to represent the predominantly Christian Chin ethnic minority in western Burma. The spokesman noted that Burmese fighter jets dropped at least seven bombs and that some houses were destroyed by the air campaign. He also said a bomb had fallen on the Indian side of the border.

But Indian police later clarified that the bomb had in fact landed directly on the dry riverbed marking the border between the two countries. Local police chief Walther told reporters that initial investigations showed no damage to any lives or property on the Indian side. He added that he believes the area directly hit was Farkhun village on the Burmese side, about eight to nine kilometers from the border between the two countries. It is the closest village along the border.

Some reports claimed that the air strike was carried out by JF-17 JF-17, a joint Chinese-Pakistani fighter jet purchased by Myanmar's air force. In 2018, Myanmar introduced at least 16 JF-17s. For a long time, it has also imported a variety of weapons from China, including J-7 fighter jets, missiles, VT-1 and VT-5 tanks, armored vehicles, ships and artillery. It can be said that the modernization of Myanmar's military cannot be achieved without Chinese arms supplies.

It is very noteworthy that the Indian side has taken a very low profile on this incident. Some analysts believe that India, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20, is more interested in playing a role in promoting global peace and development in the wider G20 and on the global stage, despite some historical issues with Myanmar over the border. Moreover, any high-profile handling of the incident by India is bound to trigger a new round of discussions on the complex multilateral relationship between India, China and Pakistan, which may not necessarily benefit the Modi government. In recent years, the Modi government has been under pressure from many sides to handle border frictions with China and Pakistan, but the Myanmar air strike had a far smaller impact than the India-Pakistan frictions and did not materially harm India. So it is likely that the Modi government, for the good of the whole, did not want to put too much effort into the issue and chose to keep as quiet as possible.

But this does not mean that India is simply a bystander, let alone a victim. India and Myanmar have a long-standing border dispute. This stems mainly from the uncertainty over the border between the two countries. Negotiations between the two countries on the border issue have made no visible progress. Although the two countries signed an agreement in 1995 to peacefully settle the border dispute, the two countries have continued to disagree on the border since then, and the tension between the two countries over the border issue has worsened due to various international factors.

In this context, we must note that the location of this incident is not very far from the Chinese border. Mizoram is the easternmost tip of India, with most of it between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Crucially, it is not far from the eastern border of China and India, so the bombing by the Myanmar military is in effect another episode of military conflict in the region along that eastern border. Myanmar has become a third party player in the context of China-India border friction.

Following a clash in August 2021, the two armies engaged in an armed stand-off along the eastern line of the China-India border, not too far from the site of the Myanmar air strike. At the very least, Myanmar's involvement in the area of military operations will heighten alarm about the fluid situation along the eastern border with India, and may even turn what has been primarily a Sino-Indian issue into a complex three-way game.

China Air Force: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uYlcS-a_HI&list=PLofQNsLszRLKAqgLS90Cn_hzZjg_IuSWm
Chinese space exploration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJaDP7cRxx4&list=PLofQNsLszRLJvyUJ9_1AJ7uSqZPcdDZRu

Photo and video: Wiki common, Yangshipin site, Yangshijunshi weibo