Click to play videoNew Delhi: Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor has said India would be “as much blameworthy” as the Chinese side for incursions on the two sides.
Noting that there were different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, General Kapoor said, “The Chinese have a different perception of the Line Of Actual Control as do we – when they come up to their perception we call it an incursion, likewise they do.”
“In the year 2007 the level of total incursions is somewhat similar to what it has been in the past – so there is this feeling that too many incursions have taken place into the Indian Territory, but is not right,” he added.
General Kapoor also admitted that border infrastructure on the Chinese side is much better than on the Indian side, which gives the Chinese an advantage in quickly bringing in additional troops.
“The fact that the Chinese have developed their infrastructure tremendously in the past few years is not in doubt. The way the infrastructure has come up – it firstly has led to a tremendous amount of development of their area. Secondly, it gives them an additional capability to bring in additional troops, if and when they do want to bring in. So that's an area where we need to be almost on an equal footing on our side, and therefore our Government is taking a set of measures with the aim of ensuring that infrastructure development is speeded up,” General Kapoor said.
The General dismissed media perception that the Chinese incursions were a sign of muscle-flexing by Beijing. “I do not share that at all... that is why I say at times the press has not been fair in reporting this very accurately,” he said.
Seeking to allay concerns over Chinese troop manoeuvres, he said satellite technology gave India an ability to see across the LAC to keep a watch on their movements.
“Whilst that [Chinese ability to move troops faster] is a matter of concern, the fact is that if and when they move [troops] there are also today images available through the means of satellite. Whenever any such movement takes place there is an ample opportunity for notice to be able to meet such a challenge if and when it does happen,” he said.
Watch the full exclusive interview with the Army Chief on Devil's Advocate on Sunday at 2030 hours IST on CNN-IBN and www.ibnlive.com. Also watch out for the full transcript of the interview here.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.