Reviving Revolutionary Momentum } 177
boundary, filling once vacant areas, in spite of the tactical superiority typ-
ically held by Chinese forces in these areas. If Indian forces encountered
Chinese outposts in areas deemed to be south of the crest line, they were
to build outposts encircling, cutting off, or “dominating” Chinese outposts,
thus forcing them to withdraw.^26 India’s Forward Policy would continue right
up to the beginning of powerful Chinese offensives in October 1962. From
the Indian perspective, the Forward Policy was an attempt to end ongoing
Chinese encroachment on Indian territory south of the Himalayan or Kunlun
crest lines (in the eastern and western sectors respectively).^27 India was doing
nothing more than securing Indian territory from Chinese encroachment.
India’s Forward Policy was premised on the belief that Chinese forces would
not resort to armed force to counter the Indian advance. China was too weak
and isolated to resort to war, Indian leaders assumed. Beijing’s alliance with
Moscow had collapsed, and China’s economy was in dire crisis.^28
From Beijing’s perspective, the legitimate border between China and India
in the eastern sector ran not along the Himalayan crest line but along the
foothills on the northern edge of the Brahmaputra Valley. China had none-
theless held its forces north of the Himalayan crest line in an attempt to fa-
cilitate a compromise settlement and avoid conflict with India. In October
1959, Beijing had even ordered its frontier forces not to patrol in a zone within
twenty kilometers behind the line of actual control along the crest line. This
act of Chinese restraint had helped create the “empty zone” into which Indian
forces were now moving. India’s Forward Policy entailed steady nibbling
away of Chinese territory, a sort of slow-motion aggression against China
conducted in spite of repeated warnings by China. Following Indian “intru-
sions” into the Longju region in the center of the NEFA-Tibet frontier, Beijing
warned in May 1962 that unless India “desists immediately” from such intru-
sions, “the Chinese government will not stand idly by.”^29 New Delhi ignored
Chinese warnings. Indian troops continued to press forward. By the end of
June 1962, the Indian foreign office reported that Forward Policy operations
had brought over 2,000 square miles of territory under Indian control.^30
From November 1961, when the Forward Policy began, until February
1962, Chinese forces were under orders to withdraw from an area when chal-
lenged by new Indian outposts. In February, Mao ordered Chinese outposts
to no longer withdraw but to stand firm even when challenged by “dominat-
ing” Indian outposts. Mao dubbed this new approach “armed coexistence,”
saying:
Nehru wants to move forward and we wouldn’t let him. Originally, we
tried to guard against this, but now it seems we cannot prevent it. If he
wants to advance, we might as well adopt armed coexistence. You wave
a gun, and I’ll wave a gun. We’ll stand face to face and each practice our
courage.^31