Delhi names ‘China expert’ as new chief of defence staff
BORDER TENSION WITH BEIJING THOUGHT TO BE KEY FACTOR IN RETIRED GENERAL’S APPOINTMENT
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 appointment comes in the middle of a root-and-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 Beijing’s growing troop presence along their long frontier. Border disputes – including deadly Himalayan clashes in 2020 – have been a perennial source of tension.
Described as a “China expert” by local media, Chauhan had been serving as counsel to India’s national security adviser after retiring from active service last year. He will take up the role of chief of defence staff “until further orders”, a defence ministry statement said last Wednesday (28).
Chauhan commanded ground forces on India’s eastern front – including much of the disputed border with China – before stepping down.
Both countries fought a full-scale war in the region in 1962 for control of India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety and considers part of Tibet.
New Delhi and Beijing have regularly accused each other of trying to seize territory at flashpoints along their 3,500km (2,200-mile) divide, known as the Line of Actual Control.
Their troops fought a high-altitude 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 sides last month began pulling soldiers back 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.
Chauhan’s army career also included a role as commander in Kashmir, 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 supporter of prime minister Narendra Modi, who created the post especially for him.
While in office, Rawat ruffled Beijing’s feathers by questioning its actions at their disputed borders and warning Nepal about China’s growing footprint.
India has been trying to modernise its 1.4 million-strong armed forces. It is also working to reduce its reliance on foreign arms, unveiling its first locally made aircraft carrier last month.