Former Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane highlighted the dual threats India faces from China and Pakistan. He identified China as India’s ‘main competitor’ in the coming years. In contrast, Naravane emphasized that Pakistan will remain a significant security concern, primarily due to its ongoing support for terrorism.
Naravane made the remarks at the launch of his book The Curious and the Classified: Unearthing Myths and Mysteries in Pune on Friday. “That’s the short-term aim and objective. I think we are very clear that in the long term and in the years to come, China is going to be our main competitor. “But it is up to us to try to resolve those conflicts, those differences through the mechanisms of talks, dialogues. And taking recourse to the use of force should always be the last resort. “You have to have a strong deterrence to stop anybody from resorting to the use of force or any misadventure.
The former Army chief said India must distinguish between a competitor and an enemy, as he emphasised the need to resolve differences with China through dialogue while maintaining strong military deterrence. On how India should deal with the two challenges, Naravane said the relative importance and priority accorded to the two would keep changing depending on the evolving situation. And I purposely use the word competitor and not enemy,” the former Army chief said. He said that China would compete with India in multiple domains – political, economic, trade and military. We should try our best to resolve disputes through dialogue,” he said. And that is why the saying is there that if you want peace, prepare for war,” Naravane said. He also made remarks on situation in Pakistan and said that is for them to look into the internal matters.
