US feared China would 'give Indians another black eye' after 1962 war

WASHINGTON: According to documents posted online by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Americans were worried that after the Sino-India war of 1962, China would attack India again through Nepal, Myanmar.

The declassified documents posted online by the CIA revealed how the Americans thought that China would 'give the Indians another black eye' through Tibet, Myanmar, Bhutan and even Nepal.

In October 1962, after brief clashes and skirmishes along the disputed territory, Chinese troops advanced into India's Ladakh and the North East Frontier Agency area, which is now known as Arunachal Pradesh. After the Indian forces had been given a drubbing by the Chinese, China announced a unilateral ceasefire one month later and withdrew from the area. 

However, the CIA, Defence Intelligence Agency and the United States Intelligence Board assessed the possibility of the Chinese to assemble a little over than 120,000 troops and attack India through neighbouring countries. The intelligence bodies also assessed the air threat that China posed to India.

The Defence Intelligence Agency came up with a report of the assessments titled 'The Chinese Communist ground threat to India' which stated that China had the ability to carry out attacks in India through Ladakh, border passes between Ladakh and Nepal as well as across eastern Bhutan and into NEFA through Assam.

However, the report stated that China's advance would face hindrances on account of the Chinese's lack of logistics capabilities and the harsh weather.