Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Friday called China India's 'biggest challenge' and will continue to remain so. He made the remarks while speaking at an event in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur.
The CDS also called the proxy war by Pakistan as India's 'second major challenge', while noting that challenges before a country are not momentary, but exist in different forms.
"I think the boundary dispute with China is India’s biggest challenge and will continue to remain so. The second major challenge is Pakistan’s proxy war against India, with a strategy of 'bleed India by a thousand cuts'," he said.
General Chauhan also called regional instability a concern, noting that all of India's neighbours are facing social, political or economic unrest. Another challenge is that the domains of war have changed - it now includes cyber and space, he pointed out.
"Both of our opponents are nuclear powers, and it will always remain a challenge to decide what kind of operations we want to undertake against them," General Chauhan said.
'Had full operational freedom during Op Sindoor'
In his remarks, CDS General Chauhan further said that the armed forces had full operational freedom, including planning and selection of targets, during Operation Sindoor. He said the aim of Operation Sindoor was not to 'avenge the terrorist attack' but to draw a red line of the nation's patience.
"It was a multi-domain operation, including cyber warfare. Coordination among military wings and joint mobilisation was a crucial aspect of it," he said.
India conducted Operation Sindoor in response to the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 that claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists.
Earlier in the day, CDS General Chauhan visited the Gorakhnath temple in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur to attend the annual 'Vyakhyanmala' held on the death anniversary of Mahant Digvijaynath Maharaj and Mahant Avedyanath Maharaj. He also addressed a session on "National Security Challenges in front of India" in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
