You're being overly simplistic. China didn't seize "an uninhabited piece of cold desert high in the mountains" they seized a road along the ridge. This isn't useless desert, this is useful desert. Besides which, if Mexico seized Organ Pipe we'd all lose our fucking minds. India hasn't been in a struggle against Pakistan, India has slapped Pakistan down every 3-5 years since Partition. Never once has Pakistan achieved anything other than embarrassment. China, meanwhile, has been encouraged in their building of concentration camps by no less than the most powerful member of NATO. No one so much as chambered a round in this so discussion of nukes is pure hyperbole. But the fact remains, China managed to elbow control of a ridge by shoving.