‘India stood firm, will not get pushed’, says Gen Rawat on Chinese aggression

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Thursday (April 15) took China head on when he said that “India we will not get pushed” and the country got “world support in preventing a change of status quo along its northern borders”.

Speaking at the virtual Raisina Dialogue series, General Rawat said, “They (China) feel just by doing a little bit of shove and push they will be able to compel nations to give in to their demands. But India stood firm on the northern borders, and we have proven that we will not get pushed.”

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The Chief of Defence Staff further said, “China attempted to say that it is my way or no other way. Such nature of undeclared war will place dilemma in minds of decision-makers, whether to resort to kinetic force and thus be labelled as aggressor.”

On China being militarily better than India, the chief executive of the Department of Military Affairs said, “China feels they have arrived, they have a superior armed force. Of course, they were able to create disruptive technologies which can paralyse systems of the adversary. They thought that India as a nation will succumb to the pressures that they are putting on us, because of the tech advances that they have.”

Rawat said the “international community” stood firmly behind India during tension in Ladakh last year, adding that “there is an international rules-based order, which every nation must follow”.

On the changing global geopolitical situation, Rawat said, “Geopolitics coupled with geo-economics is looking to reshape the rules that govern the world order. There are some nations that follow the international order while others depend on their own law…they make their own rules and regulations, try and change the status quo.” Relating this to China’s aggression in Ladakh, Rawat said, India experienced such a “conflict situation, and that is what we are witnessing on our northern borders,” he said.

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Changes in geopolitics are “shaped by a nation-first approach” as “today nations feel that we need to authoritatively pressurise other nations if they can, and that is what is leading to a changing security situation” Rawat stated.

“While militaries around the world are seeking innovative systems to enhance their combat capabilities, disruptive tech on the other hand will compel nations to rethink their concept doctrines and techniques of warfighting,” Rawat said.

On US and NATO forces planning to leave Afghanistan, Gen Rawat said that India has “concerns about Afghanistan” and would “like to see peace and tranquility returning to that region”.

“Our concern is that the vacuum that is going to be created with the withdrawal of US and NATO, should not create space for other disruptors to step in, therefore the violence continues in Afghanistan.”