Indian soldiers die everyday at LOC and we hear about these deaths only rarely. How is this different?
No I am not saying it would shut the Indians up but at least it would prevent their narrative that the Chinese are hiding their casualties, which is true when contrasted to their public listings. Had the Chinese actually provided the casualty figures, the Indians would try to say those numbers are fake, but it would be a lot weaker argument than saying the Chinese are hiding their casualty figures. Ultimately why do PLA soldiers who died in training accidents get recognized while those who die against some foreign trespassers do not? This really clouds the victory since even if only one Chinese soldier died and upwards of 50 Indian soldiers died, then that one Chinese soldier would not receive the recognition he deserves. As hollow as they are, PR victories are still important nonetheless. Besides, the Chinese gov also risks domestic indignation of them not announcing these casualties ... and they very well deserve this should whatever Hu Xijin say to be true. It can only be said that the Chinese gov's terrible PR casts a shadow on the otherwise brilliantly executed PLA operations to take 1000 square kilometers of strategically important territory previously occupied by India.
But they announce it ... it's a completely different matter no one cares about their deaths but hey at least they announce it. Besides, it is not against the PLA to announce casualty numbers. In the 1979 war, they announced their casualty figures very shortly after its conclusion. The real question though is what does the Chinese government gain by not announcing these figures ... had they said 1 or 2 soldiers fought to the death against an coordinated Indian ambush, as Hu Xijin suggested, then the Indian narrative would be considerably weakened. But now here we are with the Indians acting like the victim because indeed in the PLA counterattack, they got butchered like rabbits.
Because the conversation from the MSM and Indian media particularly won't change their anti China narrative. It doesn't matter what China "announced" they will spin it anyway they can. So why give them any more ammunition to defame China? There wasn't any fake news online opportunity like back in 1979. Any dead PLA KIA will always be honored even if it was shrouded in secrecy.
But is publicly recognizing martyrs just aimed at MSM and India though? The citizens of the PRC should know the names of the people who sacrificed their lives to go up against India, but instead are only kept in the shadows. Ordinary PLA soldiers defending the border should not be treated as some kind of special undercover operatives maintaining total opsec. If China did not release casualties for those people, it would make a lot more sense. Ultimately, soldiers killed in the line of action, especially against a nuisance like India, should garner the equal recognition as those killed in overseas UN operations or in training accidents domestically. Why is that so hard for the Chinese gov to do is my question? Do they think India will back off by not disclosing the figures ... if so I really question the soundness of Xi Jinping, who no doubt was the guy who made this decision.
The citizens of the PRC do appreciate and recognize those fallen PLA troops for their valor and contribution. They don't need to announce it because the Chinese are not gullible emotional idiots. The Indians could have also kept their casualties quiet as well, but since they lost the fight so badly that's why they "announced" it to play the victims card and save face for the politicians.
Those were just 3 I found by typing in Chinese peacekeepers killed on Google. You probably could find all of them if you digged thoroughly enough. Regarding casualties, the Chinese have been pretty up to date announcing them in past wars. The one for 1979 was announced just 1 month and a half after the war itself.
