India / It is China: Bipin Rawat on who poses the greatest threat to India's sovereignty

New Delhi: The primary focus of India at the Line of Actual Control is disengagement before de-escalation as China is our number one enemy, not Pakistan, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Thursday.

“First issue is disengagement, then de-escalation. The focus is to go back to our original positions prior to April 2020. Equal time and distance separation is paramount, but because their infrastructure is better than ours for time, we are stressing on pull-back of equal distance,” CDS Rawat told Rahul Shivshankar, Editor-in-Chief, Times Now, and Editorial Director, at Times Now Summit 2021.

General Rawat also said that reports claiming that the Chinese have entered Indian territory in the Northeast and built a village are not true.

“It is just that their old infrastructure is being redeveloped along the LAC on their side. I would not call it ‘muscle flexing’. We are noticing permanent structures on the Chinese side, so if we have to be permanently there, so be it,” he said.

Giving a peek into the talks over the LAC standoff, the CDS said that India is “well prepared for any misadventure, and are stocked up for a long winter”.

“Should the Chinese carry out a Galwan again, they will get the same response. Troops from both sides are closer than other areas in Demchok and Depsang Plains, but there is nothing to be worried about right now,” Rawat said.

Commenting on the new Chinese land law, he stated that China masters in playing mind games and India should not come under such pressure from psychological warfare.

“If their law allows transgression into Indian land, there will be contestation... We should not come under any pressure from the psychological games played by China. That is what they want. China is our biggest enemy today, not Pakistan,” General Rawat said.

Theatre command

Reiterating his call for a theatre command, he cited examples of the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars and said that it is “important for the forces to have a one-person command for all 3 Services to take decisions and report to the government directly in times of war”.

Taking note of the NSA-level meet on Afghanistan chaired by India in Delhi on November 10, Rawat said that India is prepared for any security threat.

“It would not be surprising if Pakistan-backed terror groups attempt attacks from the Line of Control (taking advantage of the Haqqani Network) given the situation in Afghanistan… We have dealt with them in the past, and we will deal with them in the future also,” he said.

Rawat also quelled rumours of a mass exodus from the Valley following the recent civilian killings and said that locals are now reportedly saying that “they will lynch terrorists”.

“Militants are frustrated and attacking locals. This is a blunder by terrorists. There is no exodus from the Valley. Our adversary wants us to play into their hands, and propagate fake news… If there is a terrorist in your area, why would you not lynch him? Why should it be a human rights issue?” the CDS asked.

Lastly, the Chief of Defence Staff called for a strong political intent to fight enemies at the border and said that it is the first line of deterrence.

“Deterrence comes when you have a clear political intent. India needs the United States and Russia, both. Tech comes from the West and armed forces’ inventory comes from Russia. We need both to be on our sides if we have to fight China if the need arises,” he said.