After Independence, India wanted good ties with China: CDS Anil Chauhan

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Friday (February 13, 2026) said that independent India was keen on building a good relationship with China. He said that after Independence, it was for India to decide where the frontiers lay.

“[Jawaharlal] Nehru probably knew that we had something like the McMahon Line in the east, and we had some kind of claim in the Ladakh area, but it was not clearly defined. That is why he wanted to go in for the Panchsheel Agreement… probably,” General Chauhan said.

“And the Chinese also, when they had so-called liberated Tibet and had moved into Lhasa and into Xinjiang, this particular area was extreme from both ends. So, they probably wanted stability in this region and that is why this area assumed priority,” the CDS added.

General Chauhan said that once Tibet was occupied by China, “India gave up those privileges”. “India recognised China and supported its permanent seat in the United Nations. The Himalayan buffer that existed between us and Tibet evaporated and was converted into a direct border,” he said.

The CDS added that in 1954, India recognised Tibet as part of China, and both countries signed the Panchsheel Agreement. With this, India assumed that it had settled its northern border and the only area not settled through a formal treaty, from India’s perspective, rested on the Panchsheel Agreement, he said.

Trade concerns, LAC stability top focus in India-China Strategic Dialogue

General Chauhan said India believed that the legitimacy of the border had been reinforced by identifying six passes through which trade and pilgrimage would take place – Shipki La, Mana, Niti, Kungri Bingri, Darma, and Lipulekh. “However, the Chinese position was that the agreement was negotiated only for trade and did not reflect their stand on the border dispute,” he added.

The CDS underlined the increasing strategic importance of the Himalayan frontiers. He highlighted the government’s focused efforts on infrastructure development in border areas and emphasised the need for integrated, forward-looking strategic planning.

General Chauhan was speaking on the topic ‘Frontiers, Borders and LAC: The Middle Sector’ during the inauguration of Bharat Himalayan International Strategic Manch (BHISM), a think tank in Dehradun. He noted that issues such as climate change, water security, border management, military modernisation and disaster preparedness required a holistic Himalayan perspective.

Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh (retd.), also part of BHISM, outlined the objectives of the project and stated that the forum would provide informed policy recommendations to the Government of India on strategic issues related to the Himalayan region, while fostering collaboration with academic and research institutions in and around Dehradun.