CHIEF of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday said Pakistan may be in a kind of economic turmoil but militarily there has been‘no denting’ in its capabilities and its Armed Forces “remain a threat for us”. During an interaction at a conclave here, he also said that India has resourcesto“takecareofourborders”, especially disputed borders in the north, very well. He said this in response to a question on some of the biggest security challenges for India in the 21st century during a session at India Today Conclave 2024. “I think if you look at the Armed Forces, the biggest challenge would be mostly external (ones).

 

And they are of immediate concern. But then externalchallengealsounite anation. Wehave seen it inKargil,wehave seen it in Galwan,” General Chauhan said. The interaction was on the subject of ‘Vision National Security: The ChallengesBeforetheIndianMilitary’. “As far as the ArmedForces are concerned,ourimmediatechallengeisthe riseofChinaandtheunsettledboundaryproblem.Wehavetwoneighbours, both adversarial to us. Both of them profess that their friendship is higher than the Himalayas and as deep as the oceans. And they are both nuclear capable,” the CDS said. But both of them are predictable actually and the Indian military knows that these are the kinds of threats, he said. “What is unpredictable, and for us what the biggest challenge would be, isthewaywarfareischanginginfuture. And, because of this, we will have to introducenewweaponsystems,technologies and tactics and strategies are goingtochange.And,probablyorganisation systems,” Gen Chauhan said. “This particular path of how to predict and what pathstotakerightnowsothat we are at the right place at the right time that I think is the biggest challenge for us,” he added. He was also asked if a “financiallyweakerPakistan” continuestoremainathreat.

 

“Pakistan may be in economic kind of turmoil and maybepoliticallyalsoslightly unstable, now they have a propergovernment.Butmilitarilytherehasbeennodenting in its capabilities actually. And, we should.. Give full markstotheadversary.That’s a better way of looking at things, that is how I look at things,” the CDS said. “Theyretained their capabilities..., so, Pakistan remainsathreat,youcan’tsay that Pakistan armed forces will not remain a threat.Yes, there may be a challenge for them to fight a long war because of the current economic problems which they have.Buttheyremainathreat for us,” he added.

 

The remarks from the top general of the Armed Forces comes days after the Indian militaryconductedthemega exercise ‘Bharat Shakti’ at Pokhran near the international border, where it showcased the prowess of its indigenous defence equipment and platforms. GeneralChauhanandother members of India’s top military brass had also witnessed the exercise held in the field firing range located in the arid terrain ofPokhran in Jaisalmer district. As far as the border is concerned, they are“reasonably well secured”, the CDS said during the conclave. “Wehaveresourcestotake care of our borders, especiallydisputedbordersinthe north very well,” he said. The CDS also spoke about the recent testing of Agni-5 and how it will strengthen deterrence. India on March 11 successfully carried out the first flight test of the indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with multiple independentlytargetablereentry vehicle (MIRV) under its ‘Mission Divyastra’, joining a select group of nations having such a capability. The MIRV feature ensures that a single missile can deploy multiple warheads at different locations, sources earlier said.