"Cet animal est tres méchant;
Quand on l'attaque il se défend."
From The Sunday Guardian:
New Delhi: The psychological evaluation and other related tests done on Indian Army officers and jawans who were in the custody of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for at least 60 hours, if not more, have given significant insights into the minds of Chinese soldiers who were a part of the action in the Galwan Valley that took place on 15 June.These 10 men, who include two Majors and two Captains, were in “surprisingly” high spirits and upbeat even after spending more than two days in the custody of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
Inputs accessed by The Sunday Guardian post the debriefing of these 10 men, revealed that the outnumbered and “unarmed” (as the rules required them to be) Indian troops, rather than retreating in view of the huge number of Chinese soldiers, grabbed the improvised clubs and rods that the Chinese were using to batter Indian soldiers, and used the same to kill “at least” 20 Chinese soldiers and officers at patrol point 14.“This was one reason for the high morale of our troops who came back to us on Thursday. Our men were captured after they chased the Chinese into their area of domination, with the intention to kill them after hearing of the loss of their CO, Colonel Santosh Babu. The Chinese soldiers, seeing the unexpected attack from our men, started fleeing and running back to their area and were followed by our men, who were then captured”, the official stated.The debriefing of the 10 men has also revealed that the Chinese soldiers were in a state of shock and fear after the Indian soldiers replied with “sheer fighting force” to the treacherous attack by the Chinese. During the next 60 plus hours, the Chinese soldiers were highly anxious about a possible retribution from the Indian side and were in “panic-mode”. “They (Chinese soldiers) were very scared during the time our men were in their captivity. They had witnessed raw fighting spirit just hours before, as executed by a few of our men and the Chinese soldiers were anticipating the same treatment from a much larger number of our men in the next few hours”, said an official source, who is aware of the findings of the debriefing....MORE
Which may be why China announced that the next time India fights back it could mean war.
The quote at the top depends on the translation of méchant for the degree of animosity implied. I'm going with naughty but it can also translate as bad or wicked:
This animal is very naughty
When one attacks it, it defends itself
The ironic warning that may go as far back as Lactantius (but definitely La Ménagerie, 1868):
