US Indo-Pacific Command's chief concerned over China's intent behind military expansion

Head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John C Aquilino on Wednesday expressed concern over China's military expansion which is being termed as the largest military build-up in history since the second world war. Aquilino expressed apprehensions over Beijing's larger aircraft carrier programmes while speaking at an Observer Research Foundation event on "The India-US Partnership: Securing the 21st Century" in New Delhi.

"Entire Chinese way forward with regard to military expansion, the largest military build-up in history since WWII, both conventional and nuclear in all domains. I don't think I will try to explain what their intent is but trying to understand their intent is a little concern," said Admiral Aquilino.  He said that the Chinese aircraft carrier programme has seen the largest growth and what they intend to do with much larger carriers is definitely a matter of concern. 

India concerned over increasing nuclear arsenal of neighbours

Aquilino also went on to say that the articulation of defensive capabilities is what the world continue to hear and it has also been seen that words from the People's Liberation Army do not meet their deeds, which makes things more worrisome. However, Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat also expressed India's concerns over the increasing nuclear arsenal of northern as well as western neighbours.

During the event, CDS Rawat said that India is surrounded by two neighbours which are armed with strategic weapons and therefore New Delhi evolves its strategies accordingly. He also urged countries across the world to come in support to fight the global war against terrorism. "I think, if any kind of support can be forthcoming from the coordination, in at least identifying the terrorists and getting some intelligence input to fight this global war on terrorism, I think that would be welcomed," he added. 

'India fully prepared to counter any terrorist activity' 

Expressing concern over the prevailing situation in Afghanistan, General Rawat said that India was concerned about how terrorist activity from Afghanistan could overflow to India and the country is fully prepared to counter it. As per a report by the ANI, the Indo-Pacific region is largely viewed as an area comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea. However, besides having overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan, China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea. 

(With agency inputs)

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