China bound to be a threat in the coming years: Army vice chief

July 25, 2017 19:07

China is expanding its influence across the Himalayas in India's neighbourhood and is bound to be a "threat" in the coming years, a top army general said today.

Lt Gen. Sarath Chand, the vice chief of the Indian Army, also castigated Pakistan's Army for targeting civilians in cross-border shelling, stressing they had "stooped so low" as to fire at schools.

"This is not what the Indian Army would do," the vice chief said at the inaugural session of AMICON 2017, a two-day conference organised by the Army and the Confederation of India Industry.

Chand also downplayed Army chief Bipin Rawat's comment that the Indian Army was "ready for a two and a half front war", stating that Gen Rawat "never meant to whip up a war hysteria" but was merely stating that India needed to pay more attention to its security.

Last month, the Chinese military had described Rawat's remarks as "irresponsible", and asked him to "stop clamouring for war".

Chand's remarks follow a month-long standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at the two nations' trijunction with Bhutan.

"China is expanding its influence across the Himalayas into our neighbourhood despite being an economy five times the size (of India), (with) such a large standing army, and despite having the Himalayas between us, it is bound to be a threat for us in the years ahead," Chand said.

He said a large part of the Chinese defence expenditure was "undeclared".

He also asserted that India needed to pay more attention to security in view of the existing scenario, and said military strength was essential for providing the security needed for economic development.

"You are aware of the tensions building up on our borders near Sikkim. You are aware of the trans-border engagements we are having. Last week alone, we lost seven lives. You are also aware of the insurgencies taking place in various parts of the country," Chand said.

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