Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan said on Thursday that China’s assertiveness is more evident now with its rise, and India will have to take this aspect into account in its overall “strategic calculus”.
“All that I said comes with a little bit of a caveat because of the northern neighbour. In this strategic calculus, India will have to take into account the emergence of China as a major power,” the Chief of Defence Staff said.
“China’s assertiveness is more evident with its rise. India has a major dispute on its northern borders with China and will have to play the strategic autonomy card,” he added.
Referring to the existing flux in the global geopolitical order, the CDS also underlined the need for India to continue maintaining “strategic autonomy” in its approach and highlighted how New Delhi was moving forward from its approach of “non-alignment” to an era of being a “Vishwa-mitra”.
“If I were to summarise the journey of India from non-alignment to exercising of strategic autonomy, it can be based on what I can say are the three S’s. The first is securing India. Next is self-reliance. And lastly, shaping the environment to India’s advantage and benefit,” he added.
