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Updated March 5th, 2023 at 19:37 IST

'Putin's Ukraine war could encourage China incursion across LAC,' warns ex-US top official

Former US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis expressed concerns that China is keeping a close watch if the Russian offensive in Ukraine succeeds.

Reported by: Eashaan Dhillon
Jim Mattis
Image: ANI | Image:self
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Former US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis expressed concerns that China is keeping a close watch if the Russian offensive in Ukraine succeeds. This will give it a chance to launch an attack on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. Mattis raised concerns as he was speaking at the Panel Discussion On "The Old, the New, and the Unconventional: Assessing Contemporary Conflicts" during the 8th edition of the Raisina Dialogue on March 3.

During the discussion, the former US Defence Secretary was asked whether the United States is prepared to tackle China. To this, he answered that he does not doubt that the US is prepared. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Australia Defence Force Chief General Angus J Campbell were in attendance during the event.

US support for Ukraine

Former US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis further said that the US will adamantly continue to support Ukraine against Russia. Further, he stated that China is watching closely and added that if Russia is successful in its invasion of Ukraine then why would China not be more attuned to move against India along the LAC. The former US Defence Secretary averred that Russia should have achieved victory over Ukraine in three weeks of war but the western funding is providing means to Ukraine to push Russia back out of its territory. ''We are seeing Russia wither,'' Mattis said.

On talks of Nuclear threat, the former US Defence Secretary stated that ''We hear cavalier talk by Putin on nuclear weapons. The politburo of the old Soviet Union never did it,'' he said adding that ''we need to go back to the Nuclear arms control treaty.''

General Angus Campbell termed the Russia-Ukraine war as illegal, and stressed that it is a violation of the integrity of a sovereign nation. Former US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis also said that the stronger India becomes militarily, the calmer the situation will be around the globe.

Speaking on the issue of lessons learnt from Ukraine conflict, General Anil Chauhan said the war has many lessons, all are not universally applicable. The Defence Staff Chief further said ''we have to see what is applicable to Indian context.''

“We had assumed future wars would be short and swift, this is a longish war. It has created contradiction,” CDS Gen Chauhan said. “We have to be self- reliant, is the biggest lesson,” the CDS added.

Mattis also said that the Indian Army needs new technology because the more the nation remains strong and speaks for itself, things around the world will be calmer. He also said that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised ‘no use of nuclear weapons’. ''I think that India has a connection to Russia that may have made that message strong and effective. We are thankful to your Prime Minister for it,'' the former US Defence Secretary said.

The ex-US Defence Secretary further said that if Russia gets successful in its Ukraine invasion then why would China not be attuned to move against India along the LAC, or even in the South China sea against Vietnam and the Philippines, he stated. Mattis also said that the Russians moved their troops of the NATO lines and are attacking Ukraine, this proves that there was never a threat from NATO.

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Published March 5th, 2023 at 19:40 IST

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