NEW DELHI: A larger conflict with China cannot be ruled out, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat, the senior-most military officer in the country, warned on Friday. He said China’s People’s Liberation Army is facing “unanticipated consequences” for its misadventure in eastern Ladakh thanks to Indian forces’ strong response.
“In the overall security calculus, border confrontations, transgressions and unprovoked tactical military actions spiralling into a larger conflict cannot be discounted,” he said, adding, “Our posturing is unambiguous. We will not accept any shifting of the LAC.” Rawat was delivering a keynote address at a webinar on ‘India’s National Security- The Decade Ahead’ at the National Defence College.
The comments came on a day the Corps Commanders of India and China met at Chushul on the Indian side of LAC to discuss disengagement from stand-off positions in eastern Ladakh. Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria, who also spoke at the webinar, said IAF’s proactive actions and strong posture played a major role in dissuading China from making any further attempts to alter status quo in Ladakh.
The CDS also pointed out the collusion between China and Pakistan. “Constant friction with two of our nuclear neighbours increasingly acting in collusion poses an omnipresent danger of regional strategic instability.”