Army Chief sees possibility of 2-front war

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 6

Despite a credible deterrence, a two-front war—a situation where India has to fight Pakistan and China simultaneously—cannot be ruled out, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat warned here today. It would predominately be a “land war”, he added.

War is very much in the realm of reality, General Rawat said while speaking at a seminar here.

He said it was a “myth” to assume that “democracies or nuclear armed” neighbours don’t go to war.

Pakistan believes that India is its main enemy and has launched a proxy war against it. “Differences with our western adversary (Pakistan) are irreconcilable. We don’t see any scope of reconciliation, because their military, polity, and people have been made to believe that there is an adversary, India, which is all out to break their nation into pieces,” he said.

Referring to the recent standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in Bhutan, he said more incidents like that could not be ruled out.

China, he said, would continue to try and nibble away at Indian territory. Terming it as “salami slicing”, he said China would continue to test our limits and threshold. India would have to be prepared for that, he said.

He said Pakistan could try to take advantage whenever India got engaged with China. “We have to be prepared for conflict on the northern and western borders,” the Army Chief said.

Believing that there would be no war could affect modernisation of forces and budgetary allocations. “Only militaries don’t go to war, nations go to war; and we must prepare ourselves accordingly,” he said.

“Credible deterrence does not take away the threat of war… Nuclear powers don’t go to war and that nuclear weapons are weapons of deterrence, yes they are. But to say that they can deter war, they will not allow nations to go to war, in our context that may also not be true,” Gen Rawat said.

Gen Bipin Rawat says...

On Pakistan: Differences with our western adversary (Pakistan) are irreconcilable. We don't see any scope of reconciliation, because their military, polity, and people have been made to believe that there is an adversary, India, which is out to break their nation into pieces

On China: Salami slicing (taking over territory in a very gradual manner), testing our limits of threshold is something we have to be wary about and remain prepared for situations emerging which could gradually emerge into conflict