Pune:
Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan on Monday called the troubled borders with China and China's rise “the most formidable challenge” that India and the Indian Armed Forces will face in the “foreseeable future”.
Speaking at the '3rd Strategic and Security Dialogue on China's Rise and Its Implications for the World' in Pune, General Anil Chauhan said, 'The challenge we face today is troubled borders. India's old borders began to take shape as solid borders under the British, but they could not gain the legitimacy of international borders upon independence, so we inherited disputed borders. China's occupation of Tibet made them a new neighbor, and a partition of India created a new nation that thrived on hostility and hatred towards us.”
The event was organized by the Ministry of Defense and Strategic Studies, Savitribai Phule Pune University. General Chauhan termed unsettled borders as a challenge facing India today.
General Chauhan said, “Today, India has disputed borders with both our neighbors. Disputes followed by conflicts have led to the emergence of terms such as the line of actual control, the line of control and the actual land position line. The troubled borders with China and the rise of China will remain the most formidable challenge that India and the Indian Armed Forces will face in the near future.”
Stating that the armed forces must uphold the legitimacy of India's claims over the disputed borders in peacetime, he stressed that this requires astute action by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) at all friction points. General Chauhan said both sides must operate within the ambit of the rules of engagement.
“The armed forces must uphold the legitimacy of our claims to these disputed borders during peacetime. This will require very astute dealing with the PLA at all friction points, calibrated firmness and both sides to operate within the scope of agreed rules of cooperation. As with all disputed borders, there will be a tendency on the part of the opponent to create new facts, or markings, toponomy or cartographic aggression, or to create a new narrative. This too will have to be fought collectively by all of us at all levels. That would include academics, strategists, thinkers and students, everyone has to do it together, General Anil Chauhan said.
CDS General Anil Chauhan said relations between the two nations cannot be viewed from a binary perspective. He emphasized that China's rise also affects other countries and called for looking to like-minded countries for a fair balance.
Referring to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's recent comment on India-China ties during a TV programme, General Chauhan said, “The day before yesterday, EAM said, 'The India-India relationship is more than the border dispute.' Similarly, in an increasingly interconnected world, China-India relations cannot be viewed from a binary perspective. China's rise also impacts other countries and we must look to like-minded countries for a fair balance as we remain aware of this. A popular idiom says that one must be prepared to fight one's own battles.”
Regarding technological advancement, General Chauhan warned against creating a significant technological gap between India and its immediate adversaries, highlighting its potential negative impact.
“In the past, there were regimes that denied technology, but what we are witnessing now is a race to maintain the technological edge. India cannot afford the creation of a large technological gap between us and our direct adversaries, and that would be fatal for us,” he said. Chauhan said.
Earlier on March 12, India sent a strong rebuttal to China over the latter's comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, stating that the northeastern state will always be “an integral and inalienable part of India”.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) claimed that China's objection to visits by Indian leaders or India's development projects “does not make sense”.
“We reject the comments made by the Chinese side on the Prime Minister's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, just as they visit other states of India. Objecting to such visits or India's development projects does not stand up to reasoning,” said MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
“Furthermore, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is and always will remain an integral and inalienable part of India. The Chinese side has been informed of this consistent position on several occasions,” he added.
Jaiswal's statement came after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference that China “strongly regrets and strongly opposes” Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the “eastern part of the China-India border” ” and has expressed concern about India. Prime Minister Modi had virtually inaugurated the strategic Sela Tunnel at an event on March 9 in Arunachal Pradesh's capital Itanagar.
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