Under PM Modi, India More Likely To Respond To Pak Provocations: US Intelligence
Mumbai: Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to any real or perceived Pakistani provocations, the US Intelligence Community has told the US Congress.
The US Intelligence Community’s annual threat assessment released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also states that “the expanded military posture by both India and China on the disputed border increases the risk of an armed confrontation between the two nuclear powers.”
“The crisis between India and Pakistan is of particular concern because the risk however low – of an escalatory cycle between two nuclear-armed states,” it said.
“Pakistan has a long history of supporting anti-India militant groups; under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or real Pakistani provocations, and each side’s perception of heightened tensions raises the risk of conflict, with violent unrest in Kashmir or a militant attack in India being potential flashpoints,” it said.
ODNI said relations between New Delhi and Beijing will remain tense in 2020 in the wake of the deadly conflict, which is the most severe in decades.
“Previous standoffs have demonstrated that persistent low-level friction along the Line of Actual Control has the potential to escalate rapidly,” the report said.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff broke out between Indian and Chinese armies after violent clashes in the Pangong Lake areas and both sides gradually increased the deployment of heavy weapons along with tens of thousands of troops.
Tension escalated after a deadly clash in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020.
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