India has stood firm against China, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Thursday, adding that it will not get pushed.
“India has stood firm on the northern borders, and we have proven that we will not get pushed. In whatever we have been able to achieve in standing firm, in preventing a change of status quo, we have been able to gather world support,” CDS Rawat while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue series.
Rawat said that China feels that “they have arrived, they have a superior armed force, because of the tech advances that they have”. China, he said, has been “able to create disruptive technologies which can paralyse systems of the adversary” which is why, “they feel just by doing a little bit of shove and push, they will be able to compel nations to give in to their demands”.
“They have tried to ensure that they can change the status quo by the use of disruptive technology, without using force. As of now they have not used force. 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.
But the “international community” has come to India’s support to say, he said, “that yes there is an international rules-based order, which every nation must follow”. That, Rawat said, “is what we have been able to achieve, and that is what we are trying to gather support from the other international nations”.
He said globally the situation is changing and “geopolitics coupled with the geo-economics is indeed seeking to reshape the rules that govern the world order”. There are some nations, he said, 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”.
“These kinds of things do lead to conflict situation, and that is what we are witnessing on our northern borders,” he said.
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.
He said soon adversaries “may get embroiled into conflict, with one of the other nations even being unaware, that they are actually in conflict”.
“Nations are trying to become assertive. And this is what, I think, China attempted to say that it is my way or no other way. But I think, such nature of undeclared war, will place dilemma in the minds of decision-makers, whether or not to resort to kinetic force, and thus be labelled as an aggressor.”
“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,” he added.
He expressed satisfaction at international cooperation, saying that “We are very satisfied in the way the international community is coming together to coordinate their efforts to ensure that authoritarian regimes do not have their way around, and that everybody follows the rules-based international order”.
Talking about the exit of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan, Rawat said that India has “concerns about Afghanistan” and would “like to see peace and tranquillity returning to that region”.
If exit of the US and NATO forces will lead to peace, “we would be happy to see such a situation emerging”, he said. “But 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.”
He said India will be “very happy to provide whatever support we can in the development of Afghanistan, and making sure that ultimately peace returns to that nation,” adding that “there are many nations that are willing to step into Afghanistan”.
