Pune:

 Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Monday called unsettled borders with China and the rise of China as “the most formidable challenge” that India and Indian armed forces will face in the “foreseeable future.”

In his address at the “3rd Strategic and Security Dialogue on Rise of China and its Implications for the World” event in Pune, General Anil Chauhan said, “The challenge we face today is unsettled borders. The ancient frontiers of India started taking shape of firm borders under the British, but they could not get the legitimacy of international borders on independence thus we inherited disputed borders. The occupation of Tibet by China, made them a new neighbour, and a partition of India created a new nation that thrived on hostility and hatred towards us.”

The event has been organised by the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. General Chauhan called unsettled borders a challenge that India faces today.

General Chauhan said, “Today India has disputed borders with both our neighbours. Disputes followed by conflicts have led to the emergence of terms like line of actual control, line of control and actual ground position line. The unsettled borders with China and the rise of China will remain the most formidable challenge that India and Indian armed forces will face in the foreseeable future.”

He stated that armed forces need to maintain the legitimacy of India’s claims during peacetime on the disputed borders and stressed that it requires astute handling of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at all friction points. General Chauhan said that both sides need to operate within the ambit rules of engagements.

“The armed forces need to maintain the legitimacy of our claims during the peacetime on this disputed borders. This will require very astute handling of the PLA at all the friction points, calibrated firmness, and both sides to operate within the ambit of agreed rules of engagements. Like all disputed borders, there will be a tendency by the adversary to create new facts, or markers, toponomy or cartographic aggression, or to create a new narrative. This again will have to be countered collectively by all of us at all levels, that would include academicians, strategists, thinkers, students, everyone has to do it together, General Anil Chauhan said.

CDS General Anil Chauhan said that relations between the two nations cannot be viewed from a binary kind of perspective. Stressing that the rise of China affects other nations as well, he called for looking at like-minded nations for equitable balance.

Referring to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent comment about ties between India and China made during a TV show, General Chauhan said, “Day before yesterday, EAM said, ‘there is more to the Sino-India relation than the border disputes.’ Similarly, in an increasingly interconnected world, Sino-India relations cannot be viewed from a binary kind of perspective. The rise of China affects other nations as well and we must look at like-minded nations for equitable balance while remaining cognizant of the fact as a popular idiom says that one must be prepared to fight its own battle.”

Regarding technological advancements, General Chauhan cautioned against allowing a significant technological gap to emerge between India and its immediate adversaries, emphasizing its potential adverse consequences.

“Technology denial regimes existed in the past, but what we are witnessing now is a race to retain technological edge. India cannot afford the emergence of a major technological gap between us and our immediate adversaries, and that would be fatal for us,” General Chauhan said.

Earlier on March 12, India sent out a strong rebuttal to China for the latter’s comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh stating that the northeastern State will always be “an integral and inalienable part of India”.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asserted that China’s objection to visits by Indian leaders or India’s developmental projects “does not stand to reason”.

“We reject the comments made by the Chinese side regarding the visit of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other States of India. Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental projects does not stand to reason,” MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“Further, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. The Chinese side has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions,” he added.

Jaiswal’s statement came after Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin during a press briefing, said that China “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the “East Section of the China-India boundary” and has raised concerns with India. PM Modi had virtually inaugurated the strategic Sela Tunnel during an event held in Arunachal Pradesh’s capital, Itanagar, on March 9.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

India has been carrying out a lot of construction activities at the China border in the last three years, BRO Director General Lt General Rajeev Chaudhry said on Sunday.

The DG was here to inspect the ongoing construction work of an air dispatch unit of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), touted to be the world’s largest 3D concrete printed campus.

Chaudhry said the government of India is fully supporting the BRO for carrying out infrastructure development projects by way of increasing the budget and new technology.

The government of India has “increased our budget by 100 per cent in the last two years”, he added.

When asked if China is carrying out big infrastructure development near the border areas of India, the DG said that a lot of construction activities have been being carried out by the BRO and other agencies at the China border in the last three years.

The DG said that around 300 BRO projects worth Rs 8,000 crore were completed during the last few years.

“In the last three years, we set up 295 road projects, bridges, tunnels and airfields which were dedicated to the nation,” Chaudhry said.

“In four months, our 60 more projects will be ready and the pace of our work has increased,” he added.

The DG said that the BRO was using steel slag — a by-product of steel — and plastic in the construction of roads.

“Today, the BRO’s pace of work is quite fast and the government has complete support in it, be it the budget, machines, new technology and simplification of procedures. You can be rest assured that we will leave China behind in the next four to five years,” he added.

The DG said that the previous government was wary of constructing roads near the Line of Actual Control.

The then Defence Minister A K Antony had in 2008 made a statement in Parliament that China could use the same roads against India, said Chaudhry.

“But today, the government is thinking in a different way. Our projects are being promoted,” he added.

Chaudhry said that only two tunnels were constructed in 60 years but in the last three years, four tunnels have been built.

“We are presently working on 10 tunnels, which will be ready by next year and eight more tunnels are planned,” he added underlining that tunnels are the most important component of providing fastest and all-weather connectivity.

He said that the BRO was using new techniques and machines for snow clearance in order to reduce the closure time of roads located at high altitude areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Tawang and other areas.

Citing an example of Zoji La pass, Chaudhry said that it used to remain shut for six months starting from October because of snow.

The closure time has been shrunk in the past three years, he added.

The DG said that road infrastructure development was not only for the security forces.

This also immensely helps for socio-economic upgradation of people who live in remote villages and distant areas and difficult terrains, he said, adding that a road is the backbone of development.

On the BRO’s projects, the DG said that it constructed the world’s highest motorable road at 19,000 feet at Demchok.

Nearly 40 days ago, we started a tunnel at Hanle at 15,000 feet, Chaudhry said.

All roads are higher in height than the base camps of the Mount Everest, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)