Pune, September 17: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said that countries like Nepal and Bhutan are more inclined towards India because of the geographical reason. He further added that due to this reason these countries could not separate themselves from India. While speaking to media after the concluding ceremony of joint military exercise, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) MILEX-18 in Aundh Military Station in Pune, General Rawat claimed that the geography of these two nation would never allow them to have ties with China. The joint military exercise of BIMSTEC nations was underway in Pune from September 10.

Nepal did not participate in the MILEX-18. Gen Rawat while interacting with media, said, “Countries like Nepal and Bhutan have to be naturally inclined to India because of the geography. Geography favours their inclination towards India and not towards China. As our leaders say, Neighbourhood First and Act East.” The highlighting the importance of the BIMSTEC, General Rawat added, “It is part of such efforts. We are strengthening our relationship with our neighbours. We are a bigger country, if we take the initiative, others will follow.”

It is interesting to note that out of the seven BIMSTEC nations, troops of only five countries - India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh participated in the exercise, while, Nepal and Thailand sent teams of observers. Citing the relations of Pakistan and America, General Rawat said, “The best example of this is America and Pakistan relations, as it did not remain same… Therefore, we need not be bothered about all these issues and need to concentrate on how to keep the country strong,”

He claimed that China is an emerging competitor of India and everything is about economics. According to the general, there is tough competition between both India and China and the country which performs better will win the race.

Speaking on the issue of illegal migration in the region, the army chief said the migration happened from economically weaker areas to stronger ones. He further added that equal growth is important to reduce this phenomenon. Speaking about the future of BIMSTEC MILEX, General Rawat said that India had provided a platform to counter-terrorism, but it is yet to be decided whether the exercise would always be conducted in India and also about the frequency of the MILEX.

Meanwhile addressing the media Subhash Bhamre, minister of state for defence, said that the multinational BIMSTEC would act as a platform to promote India’s indigenous defence products to our neighbouring countries. In the exercise, more than 250 indigenously developed defence-related equipment was displayed, and almost 20 defence manufacturing agencies participated in the display.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 17, 2018 04:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).