Border dispute with China, Pakistans proxy war against India biggest challenges: CDS Chauhan

LUCKNOW: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan Friday said geopolitics and war could not be seen in isolation, as war is a medium to achieve political ambitions. He claimed that India's border dispute with China remained one of the biggest challenges for the country with Pakistan's proxy war against India being the next major issue. While speaking at two different events in Gorakhpur on Friday, the CDS said that while China's border dispute remained the biggest challenge, Islamabad's strategy had always been to 'bleed India by a thousand cuts.' He felt that the challenges before countries were not momentary and that they existed in different forms. I think the boundary dispute with China is India's biggest challenge and will continue to remain so. The second major challenge is Pakistans proxy war against India, with a strategy of 'bleed India by a thousand cuts', Anil Chauhan told the gathering. The CDS also said that the changed domains of war were another challenge for the nations. It now includes cyber and space. Both of our opponents are nuclear powers and it will always remain a challenge to decide what kind of operations we want to undertake against them, he added. Delving deep into Operation Sindoor , where India had targeted terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation against the April 22 Pahalgam attack, CDS Chauhan said that the armed forces had full operational freedom during the operation and the aim was to draw a red line to our patience. We had full operational freedom, including planning and selection of targets, during Operation Sindoor. The aim was not to avenge the terrorist attack, but to draw a red line of our patience, he added. He went on to say that Operation Sindoor was a multi-domain operation, which included cyber warfare and coordination among military wings. While addressing a session on 'National Security Challenges in front of India,' General Chauhan felt that war and geopolitics could not be treated in isolation, as war was a medium to fulfil the political ambitions. In Prussia, now Germany, a famous political scientist said that war is an extension of politics. War and geopolitics cannot be seen in isolation. War is a medium to achieve political ambitions, he said. He laid stress on the government and the military working in tandem for securing countrys national interest. He said that in a democracy, the military works under political leadership. In a democracy, the military works under political leadership. When a government believes that force is needed to protect national interests, a military officer like me has two duties: to provide more options to the government for using forces, and to build the governments confidence in the military so it can take bigger decisions, added the CDS. Chauhan said that after the army's clash with Chinese forces in Galwan and the Balakot airstrikes, the government allowed all three wings of the military to have emergency procurement. The CDS said that after Balakot airstrikes, which were done by India in response to the brutal Pulwama terror attack in February 2019, both India and Pakistan learned lessons, leading to enhancement of military capabilities. India focused on long-range precision strikes, and Pakistan likely focused on air defence, he said. Talking about the tactics India used over the years to target Pakistan's military infrastructure, Chauhan said that for the surgical strike after the Uri terror attack in 2016, Indian forces entered Pakistan by land and destroyed terrorist camps, and after the Pulwama attack, they opted for airstrikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The CDS said that by the time the brutal terror attack happened in Pahalgam, this year on April 22, in which 26 people were killed the Indian forces had already enhanced our precision strike capabilities. He added, We tried to use lower airspace to maintain surprise and control escalation. But when we discussed with political leadership, we concluded that using drones and loitering munitions alone would not achieve our objectives. Chauhan added that to destroy Bahawalpur and Muridke, two of the nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that India targeted during Operation Sindoor, airstrikes were necessary. He said that political backing and discretion were essential to carry out the operation. During Operation Sindoor, we had both, with a clear message: destroy the terrorist camps, but only retaliate if our forces were attacked. General Chauhan arrived in Gorakhpur on Thursday. He joined UP CM Yogi Adityanath for the foundation stone-laying of the Gorkha War Memorial's renovation and the Gorkha Museum. He also offered prayers at the Gorakhnath temple.