India Appoints ‘China Expert’ As New Defence Chief

New Delhi (AFP) Sept 29, 2022

India has appointed as its new defence chief a general who led forces on its disputed frontier with China, as New Delhi seeks to counter Beijing’s growing military assertiveness.

Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan’s appointmen comes in the midst of a branch reform of India’s armed forces, and nearly a year after the previous defence chief died in a helicopter crash.

India has been wary of its northern neighbour’s growing troop presence along their immense frontier, and borde disputes — including deadly Himalayan clashes in 2020 – have been a perennial source of tension.

Chauhan, described as a “China expert” by local media, had been serving as counsel to India’s national security adviser after his retirement from active service last year.

He will take up the role of chief of defence staff “until further

orders”, a defence ministry statement said late Wednesday Chauhan commanded ground forces on India’s eastern front — including much of the disputed border with China — before stepping down.

Both countries fought a fullscal war in the region in 1962for control of India’s state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety

and considers part of Tibet. New Delhi  and Beijing have regularly accused each otherof trying to seize te ritory at key flashpoints along their 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) divide, known as the Line of

Actual Control.

Their troops fought a highaltitude skirmish in 2020 along

the border dividing Tibet from India’s state of Ladakh, killing

20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers, and precipitating a sharp deterioration in relations.

But both countries this month began pulling back soldiers from around the site of that incident

after more than a dozen rounds of top-level military talks — and after a two-year stand-off.

New Delhi is also concerned over Beijing’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean, seeing the

region as firmly within its sphere of influence.

India and the United States are both members of the so-called Quad, a security alliance

focused on the Indo-Pacific and aimed at providing a more substantive counterweight to

China.

Delayed Succession

Chauhan’s career also included a commanding role in disputed Kashmir — home to a longrunning

insurgency against Indian rule — and cross-border strikes in 2019 against militant

groups in neighbouring Myanmar.

His appointment ends months of uncertainty over who would succeed General Bipin Rawat,

who was killed in a helicopter crash in December 2021.

Rawat, 63, was the first chief of defence staff and was considered a close supporter of Hindu

nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who created the post especially for him.

While in office, Rawat ruffled Beijing’s feathers by repeatedly questioning its actions at their

disputed borders and warning Nepal about China’s growing footprint.

India has been trying to modernise and streamline its 1.4 million-strong armed forces, and is

also working to reduce its reliance on foreign arms, unveiling its first locally made aircraft carrier earlier this month.

Courtesy: Spacewar