RAWAT REJECTS CHINA CRITICISM OF SITHARAMAN’S ARUNACHAL TRIP

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday dismissed China’s objection to Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, saying the defence minister goes to areas across India where troops are deployed.

Rawat said Sitharaman meets soldiers to understand various issues and such trips are always a source of motivation for the armed forces.

On Monday, China had objected to Sitharaman’s first visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday and Sunday, saying her tour of the “disputed area” was not conducive to peace in the region.

“Defence minister visits troops in forward areas to meet them in person, to understand various issues which might be engulfing them. I think visits by the defence minister are always a source of motivation,” Rawat said on the sidelines of an event here.

He added, “After all, it is the ministry of defence that is providing support to us,” he said.

Sitharaman on Sunday visited forward army posts in the remote Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh bordering China to take stock of defence preparedness.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of south Tibet and routinely objects to top Indian officials’ visit to the area.

The army chief also added that the force would neutralise any terrorists entering Indian territory, after Indian forces killed the nephew of Jaish-eMuhammad chief Masood Azhar in Pulwama in a gunfight.

“Whether it is the nephew of Maulana Masood or anyone else, we are concerned only with finishing terror. We are not concerned what is their religion or other things,” he said.

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