Bipin Rawat says China powerful but India not weak either, claims army capable of handling Beijing's assertiveness

Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said that India will not allow its territory to be invaded by anyone and asserted that Indian Army troops were earmarked should a situation arise in the future. He asserted that China may be a powerful country but India is not a weak nation either. “The time has come for India to shift focus to its northern border,” he said while adding that “the country was capable of handling China’s assertiveness along it”. Amid aggressive Chinese efforts to increase its influence in the region, the army chief said that India cannot allow its neighbours to drift away to China. “China is a powerful country but we are not a weak nation,” Rawat told reporters in New Delhi.

Yes, China is exerting pressure. We are dealing with it. Yes we should try that it is not escalated. We will not allow our territory to intruded. Troops are earmarked, should a situation arise our troops are ready to cater: Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat in Delhi pic.twitter.com/Heuw6N7QVK

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2018

To a question about Chinese incursions into India, he said, “We will not allow our territory to be invaded by anyone.” “We need modern weapons and technology. We have to look at what we require to fight the future wars. We have to get systems that are best suited for our requirements,” he added. He further said that the Chinese troops have maintained their presence in Doka La though their numbers have thinned. He added that road construction had been going on in Doka La since 2000 but the Chinese soldiers had come close to Tosa Bala, dividing north and south Doka La in June last year just before the India-China standoff started. Referring to the US’ warnings to Pakistan over its handling of terrorism, Rawat said India will have to wait and see its impact.

We need modern weapons and technology. We have to look at what we require to fight the future wars. We have to get systems that are best suited for our requirements: Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat in Delhi pic.twitter.com/WqXZpA3c4u

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2018

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Terrorists are a disposable commodity in Pakistan and the Indian Army’s approach has been to ensure that it feels the pain, he said. It is becoming a worrisome phenomenon that people are just rushing into operations to get success and at times are taking risks well beyond their capacities, he said.

Becoming a worrisome phenomenon that people are just rushing to Ops to get success&at time taking risks well beyond their capacities.Why are they taking risks?They are more concerned abt tasks at hand to get success,that is why sometimes it is leading to higher casualty rate:COAS pic.twitter.com/QwqlzPukB4

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2018

“Why are they taking risks? They are more concerned about the tasks at hand to get success… that is why sometimes it is leading to higher casualty rates,” Rawat said, according to ANI. “We may have neutralised several terrorists but we have also caught 39 of them alive because we wanted to give them a second chance,” Rawat added. With inputs from agencies