Won’t accept change in LAC, General Bipin Rawat

Even as Indian and Chinese senior military commanders began their eighth round of discussions for a possible resolution of the six-month-long standoff in eastern Ladakh on Friday morning, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat attributed the tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to “transgressions and belligerent actions by the Chinese” and said India will not accept any change in the LAC and that status quo has to be restored. He underlined that a large scale conflict cannot be ruled out, and also stressed that collusion between Pakistan and China poses an “omnipresent danger”.

Speaking at a seminar to mark the 60th anniversary of India’s premier strategic thinking institute National Defence College, of which Rawat is an alumnus, the CDS said that “in the overall security calculus a full-scale conflict with China is low on probability, however, border confrontations, transgressions and unprovoked tactical military actions spiraling into a larger conflict cannot be discounted”.