In a warning to Pakistan over its “misadventure”, Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said let there be no doubt that such acts will be “repelled with a punitive response”.
“Pakistan army time and again resorts to misadventure either through flawed proxy wars and state-sponsored terror or intrusions. Indian Army stands resolute to defend our territory. Let there be no doubt that any misadventure will be repelled with a punitive response,” Rawat said on the sidelines of an event.
He further said that future conflicts would be more violent and unpredictable, “where the importance of human factor shall remain undiminished”. “Our soldiers are and will remain our primary assets, the Army chief added.
Speaking about activities on the border with China, Rawat said that there we no intrusions on Line of Actual Control (LAC). “Chinese come and patrol to their perceived Line of Actual Control…we try and prevent them. But at times there are celebrations that take place at the local levels. Celebrations were going on our side by our Tibetans in the Demchok sector. Based on that, some Chinese also came to see what was happening. But there have been no intrusions. Everything is normal,” the Army chief said.
His statement comes amidst reports of Chinese soldiers crossing the LAC last week after some Tibetans hoisted Tibetan flags on the occasion of Dalai Lama’s birthday on July 6.
India and China share a disputed border and the armies of the two countries were engaged in a stand-off for 73 days in 2017 in Doklam.