CDS raises alarm over China-Pak-Bangladesh nexus

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday said a convergence by China, Pakistan and Bangladesh could have security implications for the country. Gen Chauhan was speaking about “India’s evolving national security landscape" at the launch of the ‘ORF foreign policy survey’ on Tuesday night.

Asked about the role of China during Operation Sindoor, the CDS said “How much of state support (of China to Pakistan) is there, it is very difficult to define…there was no unusual activity on the northern borders with the duration of this conflict, which is different. In past, conflicts there have been trouble on the borders”.

Pakistan, he said, has acquired almost 70-80 per cent of its weapons and equipment from China, so it is expected that Chinese equipment manufacturers were providing maintenance.

The CDS’s comments come less than a week after Deputy Chief of Army Lt Gen Rahul R Singh said India faced three adversaries — China, Turkiye and Pakistan — during the four-day skirmish in May. “Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support.. using the conflict as live lab for its weapons,” the Army’s Deputy Chief had said.

The CDS’s remarks on China-Pakistan-Bangladesh posing a threat comes just 10 days after the three countries held their first-ever trilateral meeting. India shares more than 4000-km-long border with its eastern neighbour where the dynamics have changed since August last year when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted following street protests.

On Operation Sindoor, he said, “It was ‘non-contact’ warfare. It was multi domain with operations over land and maritime domains, duly supplemented by cyber, space, electromagnetic spectrum and cognitive domain.”

“The foremost evolving military challenge before us is to be prepared both for an old and a new type of war”. On the evolution of warfare, General Chauhan said unlike traditional wars there no front section of the battle on operation Sindoor. It was a warfare over networks.

India