KOLKATA: Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat stated on Monday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is carrying out development activities in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, in the middle of the Sino-Indian confrontation in Ladakh.
He also stressed that the Indian forces are well equipped to deal with any eventuality, and similar activities are taking place in the country.
“We are caught in a stalemate in Ladakh. There is some development activity that has been going on in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. nation It will continue to make preparations to strengthen its security based on its strategic interests.
“I don’t think there should be much concern in that because we, on our side, are also carrying out similar activities,” Rawat told reporters after the launch of the locally built state-of-the-art stealth frigate ‘Himgiri’ at Defense PSU Garden. Reach out to shipbuilders and engineers here.
The Indian armed forces will leave no stone unturned to safeguard the country’s borders, he insisted.
“China’s attempt to change the status quo on the Royal Line of Control along the northern borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic required high levels of preparedness on land, sea and in the air,” the CDS said.
The Indian army, after the confrontation in Doklam in 2017, has taken steps to ensure that the situation does not escalate further there, he said.
Indian forces are closely watching PLA activities in Doklam, where the armies of the world’s two most populous countries engaged in a 73-day head-to-head clash in 2017.
“We have taken the necessary measures to counter anything that could be of concern to our national security,” he said, when asked about China’s possible misadventures in the eastern sector, amid the Ladakh impasse.
The CDS further said that the Indian armed forces have adequate strength and reserves to counter any threat, and are seeking to equip themselves with more cutting edge technology.
“The time has come to look to the future of war, incorporating technology into our systems,” he said.
Speaking about the continuing violation of the ceasefire by Pakistan, he said that India is fully prepared to deal with it and that it is the other party that should be most concerned about carrying out such activities.
When asked if India should have more submarines or acquire another aircraft carrier, Rawat said both have their advantages and disadvantages.
“Submarines have a separate place in naval warfare, in the domain of the seas, and so does an aircraft carrier,” he said, arguing that the Navy needs an air wing.
The country needs to use its large number of island territories to strengthen security along the sea lanes of communication, Rawat said.
He also said that the islands may be an option to launch naval attack aircraft.
“Once we have studied all that and understood in detail, we will take a call,” he said.
Rawat said the three forces, Army, Navy and Air Force, will be integrated, while maintaining the niche capabilities of each service.
“We firmly believe that no force or service can be successful in a conflict situation if we are to face a conflict with our adversaries anywhere, whether by land, air or sea,” he said.
The integration will ensure the synergistic application of the country’s combat potentials, the CDS said.
“We had some setbacks in this, we have to understand the service of others, integration is taking place and little by little we are moving in that direction.
“We have successfully overcome some of the misconceptions about force restructuring by allowing space for each force to develop specific capabilities based on their strengths, thereby enhancing our overall combat power,” he added.
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