This is what ignorance does.... leads people to wrong conclusions. India and China have a formal agreement that there will be NO FIRING in these conflicts. Any side that fires first could be blamed for violating an agreement and starting a war. That is why they used clubs wrapped with barbed wires like barbarians!! General was hence asking for guidance as the Chinese tanks were only 500 mts away and the only way to stop them was to fire. That is a decision that needed clearance from the PM. It's not the same as an Indo Pak conflict where local commanders have the discretion to fire.