China ties cannot hinge only on border: Chauhan
Former Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan highlighted at a lecture on Saturday that China poses a long-term, comprehensive challenge to India, despite the boundary issue remaining unresolved. During an event at Teen Murti Bhawan complex, Chauhan emphasized that while border stability demands vigilance, credible capabilities, clear agreements, and adherence to them, ties with China cannot be contingent solely on boundary matters.
Chauhan pointed out that differences in perception, coupled with infrastructure development and an elevated military presence, could lead to friction and escalation. He stressed that China and India, both as major Asian powers, large economies, and civilizational states, cannot let their relationship be dominated by boundary issues.
India and China cooperate and compete, hold differing views on regional and global order, and thus, engaging with China is essential, which is being achieved through SCO and now BRICS, he added.
Moreover, Chauhan identified instability in various countries in India's neighborhood as another threat that needs to be handled. His remarks come in the wake of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, focusing on delimitation of the frontier and sustaining trans-boundary cooperation, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's anticipated visit to India for the BRICS summit on September 12-13.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
