India has faced “unprovoked aggression” from China on the Royal Line of Control (ALC) and fought the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and forced its troops back, although Beijing’s assertion of power is creating uncertainty across the region, the defense minister said. Rajnath Singh said on Monday.
In unusually forceful remarks addressing the annual convention of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (FICCI), Singh said that India is at a time in its history where it must stand up for itself and make it known that the country He “can fight anyone” and take on any challenge to survive.
Singh called on the industry to strive to forge partnerships that provide the military with adequate technology and equipment to defend the country and also to boost the export of military materiel.
“The unprovoked aggression on our Himalayan borders is a reminder of how the world is changing, how existing agreements are being challenged, how power is being asserted not only in the Himalayas but throughout the Indo-Pacific, and how uncertain the The future of the region and the world could be in this background, ”he said during the online event.
“As you know, there is a large accumulation of armed forces in LAC in Ladakh.
In these trying times, our forces have shown exemplary courage and remarkable strength. They fought the PLA with the greatest courage and forced them to return, ”he added.
The clash between Indian and Chinese forces in LAC’s Ladakh sector is currently in its eighth month, and tens of thousands of troops from both sides have entrenched themselves for the winter after several rounds of military and diplomatic talks failed to advance. in retreating and de-climbing at key friction points.
Singh said: “There comes a point in the history of a nation, from time to time, when it needs to defend itself, to say that India can fight anyone, that it is capable of accepting any challenge, just to survive.”
In addition, he said that generations to come will be proud of what the military has managed to accomplish this year. Pointing to the debate on the comparative military strengths of the two countries, he argued that there was “no room for ambiguity” in the sense that India is far ahead of China in world leadership with ideas and soft power.
“Whenever there is a situation in LAC, the most obvious result is a comparison between the military strength of India and China. There may be a serious debate about who has more military power, but when it comes to soft power there is no room for ambiguity, ”he said.
Buddhism, he said, had a “monumental influence on China, to the point that before the 1949 revolution, nearly 80% of China’s population followed Buddhism.” Singh also quoted a Chinese scholar who had said that India “has culturally dominated and controlled China for more than 2,000 years without sending a single soldier across the border.”
Singh also touched on the issue of terror emanating from Pakistan, saying that the world is only now recognizing the problem, although India struggled with it alone for years.
“We have been victims of cross-border terrorism, but we have fought alone against the scourge, even when there was no one to support us, but then they understood that we were right that Pakistan was the source of terrorism,” he said.
Pointing to troops “in the forefront fighting the icy winds to protect our borders,” Singh asked if the industry could stand shoulder to shoulder with the military using the country’s economic strength to its advantage and forging the right alliances to provide the technology and military products right to the three services.
“We have opened the doors to the private sector, we have encouraged national production, we are creating defense corridors and we are doing much more. We are also willing to participate in significant joint ventures and partnerships with other countries, ”he said, adding that the industry should produce defense hardware in India for the world.
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