As the world worries about coronavirus and the US election, two potential superpowers are edging closer to war

Border tensions are growing between India and China in a military standoff which could end up a ‘grave human tragedy’. Mayank Aggarwal in Delhi reports on how India is preparing for a potential conflict

An Indian army convoy moves on the Srinagar- Ladakh highway at Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir (AP)

"Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected,” says Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu in his book The Art of War.

Standing eye to eye with Chinese forces in the Ladakh region since May this year, India has lost all appetite for “surprises” like the kind that led to the deaths of 20 of its soldiers in hand-to-hand brawling in June.

As the conflict has dragged on to become the most serious between the two Asian giants since the 1962 India-China war, Delhi has deployed tens of thousands more troops across the 3,488 km (2,167 miles) Line of Actual Control – the disputed de facto border – to protect its territory. With the unforgiving winters of the region just around the corner and no de-escalation in sight, India has dug its heels deep.