New Delhi, February 23
The Indian Army Chief, Gen Deepak Kapoor, has said that the security situation vis-a-vis Pakistan “should improve” now that the elections have been held.
In an interview with Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN programme Devil’s Advocate, he praised the new Pakistan Army Chief, Gen Ashfaq Kayani, saying that “it is reassuring to have a person who is a professional soldier at the head of the Army” The interview will be broadcast tomorrow.
Terming Chinese incursions as a “misperception”, he said, “The Chinese have a different perception of the Line of Actual Control, as do we…so therefore to that extent we would be as much blameworthy for that kind of incursion”.
On how he perceived the security threat India faced from Pakistan, he said, “With the elections having taken place, I think the security situation, if it now gets stabilised, should improve. When things were turbulent we were a little worried …and therefore we were very vigilant on the border...Hopefully, in the next few days they will have a government (and) we would be able to talk to a democratically elected government to resolve some of our differences.”
Talking about infiltration across the LoC, General Kapoor said while the numbers had declined, attempts to infiltrate had gone up. “In 2006, the infiltration rate was approximately 343 as per our count. In 2007, it was 311. So there’s a marginal decline. But as far as the attempts or bids (are concerned) they were slightly higher in 2007.”
Regarding China’s military build-up, including the so-called “string of pearls” that some analysts believe amount to encirclement of India, the Army Chief said, “Every one of the bases that the Chinese may have may not necessarily be seen as an attempt to encircle India.” He, however, added that all this was collectively borne in mind when India did its strategic planning.
General Kapoor said disparity in infrastructure between the Indian and Chinese sides of the border in Arunachal Pradesh gave China “an additional capability to bring in additional troops.” “There is a disparity and we are seriously looking into it and trying to change that,” he said, adding that satellite technology, which gave India the ability to see deep across the Line of Actual Control into the Chinese side, would help overcome the disparity.
