IANS-
India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday claimed that the situation at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh remains tense and the possibility of a war with China cannot be ruled out.
“In the overall security calculus: border confrontations, transgressions, unprovoked tactical military actions — spiraling into a larger conflict, therefore, cannot be discounted,” Rawat said.
His statement came amid an ongoing military talk between India and China at Chushul of Friday. He was speaking at Diamond Jubilee Webinar, 2020 organized by National Defence College in Delhi.
However, the CDS also pointed out that India’s posturing is unambiguous and she “will not accept any shift in Line of Actual Control”.
He also said that China’s People’s Liberation Army is facing unanticipated consequences for its misadventure into Ladakh because of firm responses by Indian forces.
The military level talks underway since 9.30 a.m. were the eighth round.
India and China have been engaged in a worst seven-month-long border dispute at the LAC. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough.
Further, speaking about defense cooperation, the CDS said that India understands the importance of leveraging defense diplomacy in building mutual trust and partnerships with strategically important countries.
He also said that in the coming years, the Indian defense industry will be growing exponentially and contribute to the overall defense preparedness. “The industry will deliver us state-of-art weapons and equipment fully made in India,” General Rawat said.
The officer said that as India grows in stature, security challenges will rise proportionately.
“We must move out of the constant threat of sanctions or dependency on individual nations for our military requirements and invest in building long-term indigenous capability for strategic independence and application of decisive military power to squarely meet present and emerging challenges,” the officer added.
