Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-4923787-20140606211304/@comment-4621372-20140615184736

The 1962 Sino-Indian war was an unmitigated disaster for the Indians, who were just completely unprepared for the war- they had 10,000 troops on the border, none on war footing, against 85,000 Chinese. The Chinese could have taken Arunchanal Pradesh right then, although when Indian reinforcements arrived, they would probably be forced to retreat.

When both countries are prepared, you get a really bloody stalemate- it's exceptionally hard to attack in the Himalayas, as every valley is a natural fortress, and the temperatures rarely rise above 10 below 0. Not, of course, that this would stop each side from trying.

In the end, it would come down to whoever got aerial superiority. Depending on when this takes place, this is either China or India. Soviet planes would give the Indians the advantage in the Late 60s, early 70s, but apart from that, the Chinese has the upper hand.

In terms of naval superiority, India has a smaller navy but one better suited to blue-water combat. Stalemate here.