What are the Chinese up to? Why is it that they are provoking Indian troops and thereby public opinion by activating almost the entire 3,488-km Line of Actual Control, and yet managing the escalation ladder below the firing threshold? What is their message and objective? Finally, how are we responding to it? Not militarily. That isn’t the question right now. India’s armed forces are dealing with this adequately and effectively on the ground. This can’t, however, be seen as a series of whimsical, sporadic fistfights or melees on a most lonely frontier. We need to understand what the Chinese are…