NEW DELHI – India had to intervene in Bhutanese territory in Doklam asChina was trying to change the status quo by constructing a road, ArmyChief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Friday.
He called for a multi-pronged approach to deal with an assertive China thatincludes diplomatic, military and partnerships with other countries in theregion, The Hindu has reported.
“We understand China is a powerful country, but we are not a weak nation…Dealing with China is a whole of government approach. Diplomatic engagementwith China is happening well… Focus has to shift to the northern borders,for too long we have focused on the western borders. We should startpreparing for the next kind of warfare, which are cyber and space,” GenRawat said at a press conference ahead of Army Day.
Gen Rawat called for consistent focus on the neighbourhood as part ofbuilding partnerships with like-minded countries.
“We are not getting into alliances but we are seeking support of othergroup of nations in the region so that we are not isolated against anassertive China. We are looking at diplomatic, military and partnering withcountries in the region. We cannot let our neighbourhood drift away fromus,” he observed.
Gen Rawat said China had been constructing roads in north Doklam for manyyears and last June they came with large amount of equipment and soldiers,forcing India to intervene on behalf of Bhutan. He said as India intervenedin the territory of another country, the Ministry of External Affairs wasmade the sole spokesperson to avoid confusion.
“Our impression was they looked like changing the status quo. With China wehave an agreement to not change status quo… This was a change of statusquo by bringing the road down, so we intervened,” he said.
”The troop strength has gone down recently either due to winter or becausethey wanted to de-escalate.Tents and observation posts remain, a lot ofwhich are temporary structures. We have seen a reduction in manpower. Theymay come back here after winter or somewhere else. Should they come again,we will see what to do,” he stated.
Gen. Rawat stressed on the border mechanisms for resolving any issues onthe ground and pointed out that diplomatic efforts, and border demarcationtalks between Bhutan and China were on.
On the issue of capping tuition fees for children of disabled soldiers andthose killed in the line of duty, Gen Rawat said the Army would set uppremier educational institutions to educate them.
He said that as some people were misusing the facility, the governmentdecided to impose a cap of ₹ 10,000 a year for a student. However, as somegenuine students were being affected by this, Army proposed a new frameworkto continue the policy.
“We got in principle sanction for such schools… It will take 3-4 years. Iam confident this problem will soon be overcome. Till then those genuinelyaffected we will take care of them. One school will come up in Pathankot,where there is a large military fraternity, and the other in Bhopal orSecunderabad,” he added.