General Chauhan said New Delhi will have to play its ‘strategic autonomy’ card well.
New Delhi:
China’s assertiveness is now more evident with its rise and India will have to take this aspect into account in its overall ‘strategic analysis’, Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Thursday while delving into various challenges in the field national security and profound geopolitical changes.
During General KV Krishna Rao’s annual memorial lecture, he also referred to India’s ‘major dispute’ along its northern borders with China and suggested that New Delhi will have to play its ‘strategic autonomy’ card well.
“Strategic autonomy can be relevant to seize opportunities rather than to face threats. That’s where the future should lie. We should think more about opportunities,” he said.
“All this that I said comes with a small reservation from the northern neighbor. In this strategic analysis, India will have to take into account the rise of China as a superpower,” said the Chief of Defense Staff.
“China’s assertiveness is becoming more apparent with its rise. India has a major dispute on its northern borders with China and will have to play the strategic autonomy card…,” he added.
Referring to disruptions in the global geopolitical order, General Chauhan also underlined the need for India to continue to maintain ‘strategic autonomy’ in its approach and highlighted how New Delhi was moving from its ‘non-alignment’ approach to an era of ” vishwamitra” – a friend of the world.
He also cited India’s 1998 nuclear tests, India’s “neutral and nuanced” stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and its decision to continue purchasing S-400 missile systems from Moscow despite the threat of sanctions as examples of the country exercising its responsibility. “strategic autonomy”.
“I believe India has made the transition from the non-alignment of yesteryear to self-alignment, as you said, to perhaps multiple alignment,” he noted.
The Chief of Defense Staff also summarized India’s journey of non-alignment with that of exercising strategic autonomy.
“If I were to summarize India’s journey from non-alignment to exercising strategic autonomy, it can be based on what I can say: three S’s. The first is to secure India. Then there is self-reliance. And finally, shaping the environment. for the benefit and benefit of India,” he said.
General Chauhan also elaborated on the economic aspects of global geopolitics and that the global balance of power can be shifted through economic alignment and even issues of morality, justice and convergence of global interests.
“In India’s famous epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna shifted the balance of power to the Pandavas. His military power went to the Kauravas, but it was only his justice and wise advice that shifted the balance of power,” he said.
‘And in the end the Pandavas emerged victorious. We as a nation have used the G20 platform to leverage soft power to play a dominant role. So these are also important facts that we need to keep in mind as we make strategic decisions about how to align in the future,” he said.
General Chauhan said the global geopolitical environment is currently in flux and India must exercise its options keeping in mind its national interests.
“I think the world moves between two orders. The old order is withering and forming and no one knows the contours of this new order and how it will shape up in the long term,” he said.
General Chauhan also mentioned the financial crisis, disruptions in global supply chains due to COVID-19, food and fertilizer shortages due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the situation in the South China Sea as some manifestations of the geopolitical and geo-economic flux.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
