China-Pak-Bangladesh Ties a New Security Challenge: CDS Chauhan

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Tuesday that that the growing China-Pakistan-Bangladesh interaction posed new risks to India’s national security. “Regional stability is critical to securing our national interests,” the CDS said. “Developments in Myanmar and growing numbers of external actors in the Indian Ocean are key impediments that require attention.”

Speaking at a conference, he said: "The economic distress in countries in the IOR has given outside powers to leverage their influence through debt diplomacy, creating vulnerabilities for India. Similarly, frequent shifts in government in South Asia with changing geopolitical equations and ideological views is another major challenge that we face. Similarly, there is a possible convergence of interest we can talk about between China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, may have security implications for regional stability and security dynamics,"

However, he said that during Operation Sindoor there was no unusual activity on the northern borders with China during the conflict. The CDS said that it was difficult to define how much of Chinese state support was given to Pakistan during the Operation Sindoor.

Gen. Chauhan pointed out that from last five years Pakistan had been buying weapons from China and there could have been people from Chinese OEMs servicing their liabilities as per these contracts. He highlighted the fact that some of the commercial satellite images from Chinese companies could have been available to Pakistan.

Asserting that India would not be deterred by nuclear blackmail, Gen. Chauhan said that Operation Sindoor was the only example of a conflict between two nuclear states. He said that Operation Sindoor was ‘non-contact warfare’ and “we never saw each other.”

Gen. Chauhan said that India aimed to become a Vishwabandhu, a trusted global partner rooted in strategic autonomy. But strategic autonomy should not be misunderstood as strategic isolation, he said. India seeks to play the role of a balancer, actively engaging in both BRICS and the Quad.

"The modern conflict has shown that threat can emanate for any level and escalate quickly and rapidly necessitating diligent preparation and capability to build up. In the spectrum of conflict, nuclear conflict lies at the extreme end of the threat spectrum. My understanding is that nuclear weapons are tools of deterrence and not war-fighting. Of late, India has also said that it will not be deterred by nuclear blackmail... Operation Sindoor is the only example of a conflict between two nuclear states," he said.

Gen Chauhan said that India must be prepared for the full spectrum of conflict—both conventional and sub-conventional.

He said that India’s national security landscape is shaped by its history, defined by its geography, tested by geopolitical competition, and reshaped by fast-moving tech.

He said that the emerging tech like AI demands soldiers who are tech-savvy and adaptable in advanced battlefields. In this context, Agnipath offers a strategic advantage and it ensures that every four years, India fields a new generation of soldiers.

He hinted that some of the models of the theaterisation may be reviewed a bit as a result of lessons learnt from Operation Sindoor.

Gen. Chauhan said that the path to theaterisation began with jointness and integration among the three services. “Operation Sindoor demonstrated this jointness organically. Strategic synergy across services also reflected growing integration on the ground.”