Army chief says will call Pakistan’s nuclear ‘bluff’, cross border if govt asks

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

Will call Pakistan’s nuke bluff if tasked to cross border: Army chief

NEW DELHI: The Army on Friday said it will not allow an expansionist China to intrude into Indian territory at any cost, while roundly dismissing Pakistan's reckless threats about its tactical nuclear weapons being an effective counter to India's conventional military superiority.
"China is a powerful country but we are not a weak nation...We will not allow our territory to be invaded by anyone. We are prepared," said Army chief General Bipin Rawat, in the backdrop of the People's Liberation Army needling India with as many as 415 "border transgressions" across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last year, which also saw the 73-day face-off at Doklam and 215 other troop confrontations.

Speaking in the run-up to the Army Day on January 15, Gen Rawat also said "Pakistan's nuclear bogey" will be thoroughly exposed if it actually comes to a war with the western neighbour, which often brandishes its short-range Nasr (Hatf-IX) nuclear missiles as a battlefield counter to India's `Cold Start' strategy of swift, high-intensity conventional attacks into enemy territory. "We will call their bluff. If given the task, we will not say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons," he said.

The Army chief was sceptical about US President Donald Trump's stern warning to Pakistan against harbouring terrorists leading to any concrete change on the ground as far as India was concerned. "We will have to do our own job," he said, adding the US had its own "compulsions" to maintain relations with Pakistan.

But even as Indian Army continues its punitive fire assaults to "inflict pain" on Pakistan Army for actively abetting cross-border terrorism and infiltration, with the latter suffering "three to four times more casualties", Gen Rawat said his force was "shifting its focus" from the western front to the "northern borders" with China.

"Yes, China has become assertive and is exerting pressure. But we are capable of (militarily) handling this assertiveness along the border...the terrain is to our advantage," he said. Though the government is dealing with China in a holistic manner, with the diplomatic engagement "going well", India should take care to ensure its neighbours like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan "do not drift away" from it. "We have to see we are not isolated against China in this region," he said, also referring to the emerging "quadrilateral" with the US, Australia and Japan in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain.

As for the heightened tensions along the 4,057-km LAC, which stretches from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, Gen Rawat said: "contacts" (troop face-offs) were on the rise because the two armies had stepped-up their patrols. "There are differing perceptions about the LAC with overlapping claims. But we have bilateral mechanisms to diffuse tensions and avoid clashes," he said, adding that the DGMO-level hotline between the two armies was also on the anvil now.

"We made all efforts to ensure Doklam (near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction) did not lead to a conflict. But if it had escalated, we were prepared for it," he said. Indian troops had blocked Chinese soldiers from constructing a road towards the Jampheri Ridge in south Doklam in mid-June, which had led to the 73-day eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation before the rival troops finally disengaged on August 28.

As earlier reported by TOI, Chinese troops have established a permanent presence in north Doklam, with the construction of two helipads, upgraded roads, scores of pre-fabricated huts, shelters and stores to withstand the chill in the high-altitude region since then.

"This is disputed territory between Bhutan and China. There has been a reduction in the strength of Chinese troops there. But there is the possibility that they could come back (in force) after the winter. We have to wait-and-watch," he said.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...ss-border-army-chief/articleshow/62477439.cms

 

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

Need to shift focus from border with Pak to that with China: Army chief Bipin Rawat

New Delhi: India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that with China, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said today, cautioning that the country cannot allow its neighbours to drift towards China, virtually asking the government to effectively implement its ‘neighbourhood first’ policy.

Admitting that Chinese troops have been ramping up pressure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), he asserted that China may be a powerful country but India too is not a weak nation.

In a media address on the eve of the Army Day, Rawat said countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have to be kept on board as part of a broader strategy to deal with China, and India must make “wholehearted” efforts to continue extending support to them.


“We cannot allow the neighbourhood to be drifted away from us –whether it is Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Afghanistan. These nations have to be kept on board, and I think we have to put in our wholehearted effort to ensure we continue to support them,” he said.

The Army chief’s comments assume significance given that in recent past, China has been deepening ties with some South Asian nations and providing them with huge financial aid, which, some experts feel, may draw India’s neighbours including the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal towards Beijing.

These countries have been traditionally close to New Delhi.

Underlining the need for shifting attention from the western border with Pakistan to the northern frontier with China, Rawat said, “For too long, we have kept our focus on the western front. I think time has come for us to focus on the northern border. Therefore, our infrastructure development on the northern border has to be speeded up.”

Referring to India shoring up ties with other countries, he said, “We are seeking support of other nations, group of nations in the region, to see that we are not isolated completely in a situation in Asia against an assertive China. That is the next step that is being taken and, therefore, you will find that a quadrilateral is formed.”

In November last year, India, Japan, Australia and the US had set the ball rolling for forming a quadrilateral coalition in the Indo-Pacific region to pursue their common interests, a move seen as a measure to counter growing Chinese influence.

He said there are other countries that are coming on board to support India in whatever way they can.

“At the military level, we know that if there is a threat from China, we have to be prepared for it,” he said, adding India’s military engagement with almost all nations of the region are of a high order.

The Army is concentrating more on the neighbourhood than beyond as this will enable India to balance the Chinese assertiveness, he said.

“That is the approach we are taking. We know China is a powerful country but let us also not forget that we are not a weak nation. Let’s not get so worried. We are dealing with the situation. We are confident we will be able to handle the situation,” he said.

Rawat said China has been keeping its troops in north Doklam.

He said India is dealing with China at different levels including through diplomatic engagement.

He also admitted that China was exerting pressure along several border areas, but India made sure the situation did not escalate beyond a point.

“Yes, it (China) is exerting pressure. We are prepared for it, but as I said we are dealing with it at different levels. Our intention always is that whenever he exerts pressure, we should try not escalate it beyond a limit.

“Yes, we will not allow our territory to be invaded or intruded upon. Whenever an intrusion takes place to our territory, we will defend our territory because that is a charter given to us,” he said.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped construction of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam. The face- off had ended on August 28.

Asked about the Doklam standoff, he said Chinese side had undertaken some activities in June 2016 also but last year India decided to intervene when they came to build a road in the strategically important area.

He said movement of Chinese troops may take place after winter and Indian Army will take a call then considering the situation.

“The People’s Liberation Army of China has occupied the area in the west of Torsa nullah called northern Doklam. At the actual spot the two sides have disengaged. The tents remain. The observation posts remain. This is a territory disputed between Bhutan and China,” he said.

Asked about increasing cases of transgressions by China along the border, he said India has increased intensity of border patrol as a result of which “contacts” between troops of the two sides are going up.

He said at times, transgressions take place due to varying perception of the LAC.

Referring to Tuting incident in Arunachal Pradesh, he said the issue was resolved amicably, adding Chinese road building teams may have come there not knowing that the area belongs to India.

He said there are several areas along the border which are vulnerable due to lack of infrastructure, noting adequate number of troops have been deployed to deal with any eventualities in those locations.

Rawat said the Army was focusing on improving border infrastructure to ensure that speedy movement of ammunition and troops.

http://www.freepressjournal.in/indi...hat-with-china-army-chief-bipin-rawat/1203489

 

[Sully3]

Pakistans response to cold start is the same as indias plan for cold start. To intrude into enemy territory and hold a sizeable chunk of land.

Pakistan will intrude into India and take a chunk of their land so negotiations are easier to do as both countries will have to go back to the LOC eventually. To fight India in the territory they have taken over of Pakistan isnt ever the answer to cold start, what you will do we will do in another area.

using tactical nukes is the B option.

 

[Dash]

Pakistans response to cold start is the same as indias plan for cold start. To intrude into enemy territory and hold a sizeable chunk of land.

Pakistan will intrude into India and take a chunk of their land so negotiations are easier to do as both countries will have to go back to the LOC eventually. To fight India in the territory they have taken over of Pakistan isnt ever the answer to cold start, what you will do we will do in another area.

using tactical nukes is the B option.

That brings out a question you tried in 1999.

 

[Sully3]

The objective was achieved we took over indian posts for 3 weeks before they found out

But the downfall was the exit strategy because cowards like Nawaz Sharif came under US pressure. And indians got caught with their pants down so had to reply back and did so by killing PA officers coming back from the posts they had occupied.

Cold starts exit strategy is defined already, we hand over your territory back once you withdraw from ours.

 

[ashok321]

Army chief says will call Pakistan’s nuclear ‘bluff’, cross border if govt asks

https://theprint.in/2018/01/12/army...clear-bluff-says-will-cross-border-govt-asks/

New Delhi: Using some of the strongest words on Pakistan, Army chief Bipin Rawat Friday said that India will call out its neighbour’s ‘nuclear bogey’, and that the military is ready to cross the border if tasked by the government.

Rawat said ceasefire violations have gone up sharply as India is now directly targeting Pakistan army posts that support the infiltration of militants across the Line of Control.

Rawat also admitted that Chinese troops were still present in the northern Doklam region. He became the first top Indian military officer to link the quadrilateral approach between India, US, Japan and Australia to an ‘assertive China’.

“On the nuclear bogey of the Pakistanis, I think we have called the bluff. If we have to really confront the Pakistanis and the country gives us a task, we are not going to say we will not cross the border because they have nuclear weapons,” Rawat said at his annual Army press conference.

He said ceasefire violations had gone up drastically over the past year as the military’s policy was to respond to infiltration attempts by firing at Pakistani posts that provide cover fire.

“All of our ceasefire violations are against Pakistani posts supporting infiltration. A terrorist is a disposable commodity for Pakistan. Unless the Pak army feels the pain, there will be no change,” the Army chief said.

“They have suffered three or four times more than us. That’s why they keep asking us for a ceasefire. This will come only at one condition: that infiltration comes down.”

On the recent US pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror havens, Rawat said it was too early to say that Pakistan had been isolated. “There are compulsions for the US to maintain relations with Pakistan, and Pakistan understands that,” he said, adding that India needed to be prepared to take on the issue by itself.

On the Doklam border crisis that saw Indian and Chinese troops face off last year, Rawat said the number of PLA troops in the region had thinned down, but India needed to be alert for the summer.

“The PLA has occupied the northern Doklam area. A large number of troops have gone back from that area. Tents, toilets and observation posts remain, but manpower has thinned down. Once winter gets over, we can expect movement again. We have to be prepared for that,” he said.

On countering China’s aggressive approach, Rawat said this could be done with a holistic approach.

“We don’t go in for alliances, but we are seeking the support of other groups of nations in the region to see that we are not isolated completely in Asia with an assertive China,” he said.

“There, we find that the quadrilateral (India-US-Japan-Australia) has been formed, and other countries are coming to support us in any way we want.”

 

[ashok321]

So the surgical strike claim was false as 3 dollar bill, otherwise the title would have been in the following shape:

Army chief says will call Pakistan’s nuclear ‘bluff’, cross border again if govt asks

 

[shootingstar]

So the surgical strike claim was false as 3 dollar bill, otherwise the title would have been in the following shape:

Army chief says will call Pakistan’s nuclear ‘bluff’, cross border again if govt asks

Finally the drama is coming to an end as the term of the government is also coming to an end.

 

[Qutb-ud-din Aybak]

so he is admitting ceasefire violations.

 

[El Sidd]

Alhumdulilah

 

[Mrc]

Will call Pakistan’s nuke bluff if tasked to cross border: Army chief

NEW DELHI: The Army on Friday said it will not allow an expansionist China to intrude into Indian territory at any cost, while roundly dismissing Pakistan's reckless threats about its tactical nuclear weapons being an effective counter to India's conventional military superiority.
"China is a powerful country but we are not a weak nation...We will not allow our territory to be invaded by anyone. We are prepared," said Army chief General Bipin Rawat, in the backdrop of the People's Liberation Army needling India with as many as 415 "border transgressions" across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last year, which also saw the 73-day face-off at Doklam and 215 other troop confrontations.

Speaking in the run-up to the Army Day on January 15, Gen Rawat also said "Pakistan's nuclear bogey" will be thoroughly exposed if it actually comes to a war with the western neighbour, which often brandishes its short-range Nasr (Hatf-IX) nuclear missiles as a battlefield counter to India's `Cold Start' strategy of swift, high-intensity conventional attacks into enemy territory. "We will call their bluff. If given the task, we will not say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons," he said.

The Army chief was sceptical about US President Donald Trump's stern warning to Pakistan against harbouring terrorists leading to any concrete change on the ground as far as India was concerned. "We will have to do our own job," he said, adding the US had its own "compulsions" to maintain relations with Pakistan.

But even as Indian Army continues its punitive fire assaults to "inflict pain" on Pakistan Army for actively abetting cross-border terrorism and infiltration, with the latter suffering "three to four times more casualties", Gen Rawat said his force was "shifting its focus" from the western front to the "northern borders" with China.

"Yes, China has become assertive and is exerting pressure. But we are capable of (militarily) handling this assertiveness along the border...the terrain is to our advantage," he said. Though the government is dealing with China in a holistic manner, with the diplomatic engagement "going well", India should take care to ensure its neighbours like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan "do not drift away" from it. "We have to see we are not isolated against China in this region," he said, also referring to the emerging "quadrilateral" with the US, Australia and Japan in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain.

As for the heightened tensions along the 4,057-km LAC, which stretches from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, Gen Rawat said: "contacts" (troop face-offs) were on the rise because the two armies had stepped-up their patrols. "There are differing perceptions about the LAC with overlapping claims. But we have bilateral mechanisms to diffuse tensions and avoid clashes," he said, adding that the DGMO-level hotline between the two armies was also on the anvil now.

"We made all efforts to ensure Doklam (near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction) did not lead to a conflict. But if it had escalated, we were prepared for it," he said. Indian troops had blocked Chinese soldiers from constructing a road towards the Jampheri Ridge in south Doklam in mid-June, which had led to the 73-day eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation before the rival troops finally disengaged on August 28.

As earlier reported by TOI, Chinese troops have established a permanent presence in north Doklam, with the construction of two helipads, upgraded roads, scores of pre-fabricated huts, shelters and stores to withstand the chill in the high-altitude region since then.

"This is disputed territory between Bhutan and China. There has been a reduction in the strength of Chinese troops there. But there is the possibility that they could come back (in force) after the winter. We have to wait-and-watch," he said.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...ss-border-army-chief/articleshow/62477439.cms

I hope and pray they do exactly that.... call our nuclear bluff

 

[shootingstar]

so he is admitting ceasefire violations.

Not only agreeing but confessing/accepting that India is unable to take the heat from Pakistan and is totally on the defensive in spite of bravado being displayed by Modi and his team.

 

[Mrc]

Army chief says will call Pakistan’s nuclear ‘bluff’, cross border if govt asks

https://theprint.in/2018/01/12/army...clear-bluff-says-will-cross-border-govt-asks/

New Delhi: Using some of the strongest words on Pakistan, Army chief Bipin Rawat Friday said that India will call out its neighbour’s ‘nuclear bogey’, and that the military is ready to cross the border if tasked by the government.

Rawat said ceasefire violations have gone up sharply as India is now directly targeting Pakistan army posts that support the infiltration of militants across the Line of Control.

Rawat also admitted that Chinese troops were still present in the northern Doklam region. He became the first top Indian military officer to link the quadrilateral approach between India, US, Japan and Australia to an ‘assertive China’.

“On the nuclear bogey of the Pakistanis, I think we have called the bluff. If we have to really confront the Pakistanis and the country gives us a task, we are not going to say we will not cross the border because they have nuclear weapons,” Rawat said at his annual Army press conference.

He said ceasefire violations had gone up drastically over the past year as the military’s policy was to respond to infiltration attempts by firing at Pakistani posts that provide cover fire.

“All of our ceasefire violations are against Pakistani posts supporting infiltration. A terrorist is a disposable commodity for Pakistan. Unless the Pak army feels the pain, there will be no change,” the Army chief said.

“They have suffered three or four times more than us. That’s why they keep asking us for a ceasefire. This will come only at one condition: that infiltration comes down.”

On the recent US pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror havens, Rawat said it was too early to say that Pakistan had been isolated. “There are compulsions for the US to maintain relations with Pakistan, and Pakistan understands that,” he said, adding that India needed to be prepared to take on the issue by itself.

On the Doklam border crisis that saw Indian and Chinese troops face off last year, Rawat said the number of PLA troops in the region had thinned down, but India needed to be alert for the summer.

“The PLA has occupied the northern Doklam area. A large number of troops have gone back from that area. Tents, toilets and observation posts remain, but manpower has thinned down. Once winter gets over, we can expect movement again. We have to be prepared for that,” he said.

On countering China’s aggressive approach, Rawat said this could be done with a holistic approach.

“We don’t go in for alliances, but we are seeking the support of other groups of nations in the region to see that we are not isolated completely in Asia with an assertive China,” he said.

“There, we find that the quadrilateral (India-US-Japan-Australia) has been formed, and other countries are coming to support us in any way we want.”

I think its right time... fighting with US and all that.... modi shall call them..... it's now or never man

 

[beijingwalker]

He and Modi, a perfect pair to lead India into disasters.

 

[Taimoor Khan]

Bravado got to have some limits. Indian establishment was saying the same sh|t back in 1998, calling "Pakistan bluff" when they challenged us about our nuke capability.

I don't think Pakistan will use tactical nukes on Indian forces part of cold start doctrine because conventionally, Pakistan got enough firepower to knock them out. Tactical nukes may have been developed using this cold start non sense as a pretext, but their real and effective use is in a full fledge war. Mated with the stand off weapons, like Babur, RAAD, they can give us quick victory over Indian forces without crossing the strategic threshold. In fog of war, who would know as to what happened to remote Indian airbase, command center or their tanks columns and what weapons system was used against them. And by the time they would know, war would already be over.