Hyderabad: India will continue to face security challenges from Pakistan and China from short and long term perspective and it has the disadvantage of being geographically situated in close proximity to the "epicentre of global terrorism", Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lt Gen (retd) AK Singh said today.
"India has the disadvantage of being situated in close proximity to what has been described as the epicentre of global terrorism. We have seen the effect of it in the last decade or two," Singh said.
"In my view, Pakistan will continue to remain a principal national security challenge in the short term," he said.
National security in the current scenario encompasses issues such as political stability, economic growth and diplomatic and military strength, Singh said in his keynote address at Administrative Staff College here.
With regards to the challenges from China, the Lieutenant Governor said the massive infrastructure projects being set up by Beijing in Tibet may pose security challenge in the long term for New Delhi.
"We also cannot ignore the massive development of infrastructure in Tibet Autonomous Region (by China) and the related deployment capability of PLA (People`s Liberation Army).
China, therefore, in my view, remains a long-term challenge for our national security. I don`t use the word threat but it is a challenge," he maintained.
According to him, despite growth of economic ties between India and China, unresolved border issues and mutual distrust still exist between the Asian giants and they should be addressed.
He said the strategy towards Pakistan should be devised in such a way that Indian Government and people are taken on board on developing closer bilateral ties.
