There's plenty of examples of currently serving Indian servicemen doing the same...specially the current general of the Indian army. Idk why he feels the need that he has to issue these kinds of feel good/chest thumping statements every now and then. These kinds of things can make a professional army look like a joke.
There is no clear cut definition of a global power...it can depend on a few parameters ranging from having a large economy/GDP, soft power, military capability etc. In my opinion China is pretty close...China meets almost all the prerequisites but I think one key requirement of being a global power should be the ability to project force AROUND THE WORLD. On that end China still has some catching up to do.
- China would require a substantial ability to transport troops/tanks/IFVs/etc in a relatively short time like US was able to do in case of Afghanistan or Iraq.
- On Navy's part, it requires several aircraft carrier groups
- Several nuclear submarines(with nuke tipped ICBMs) to be able to carry out a nuclear attack on any country in the world.
The first two are necessary to project force if needed in a conventional manner. The last one is more of a deterrence thing to keep other nuclear powers at bay with the threat of MAD...
...all this obviously has to be backed by a strong industrialized economy and technological prowess, which China already has along with soft power. So in my opinion China is a soon to be a global power but it is not one yet.
