That Chinese invasion was intended to teach India a lesson for its support of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan resistance. An existing border dispute was used as a pretext to launch a swift invasion (one that caught Nehru’s India by surprise), inflict a humiliating defeat, and then stage a seemingly magnanimous unilateral withdrawal designed to highlight India’s impotence.
英军少将谢尔福德·比德韦尔称中国的这种军事策略为“教训战略”。该战略的首次使用是1962年那场短暂的中印战争。当时中国想教训一下支持达赖喇嘛和西藏分裂运动的印度，于是以现有的边界争议为借口发动快速入侵（打了尼赫鲁政府治下的印度一个措手不及），印度惨败，然后中方突然单方面撤军，以展示自己宽宏大量，并突显印度的无能。