CHANDIGARH: Even as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General V K Singh continues to ruffle the feathers of Ministry of Defence over his age row, he had endeared himself with the US diplomats who assessed him as being "friendly and open", says a US cable leaked by WikiLeaks.
"He was unusually candid for a man in uniform and spoke without a note taker. It is unlikely that he will be as accessible or free to speak in his new position," says the cable dated February 26, 2010, a month before Singh was sworn-in as the new Army commander. The General had interacted with the US consul General at Kolkata during a 45-minute meeting, when he was the Eastern Army commander.
The confidential cable, leaked from the US Consulate in Kolkata, takes note of Singh's emphasis on India's ties with United States.
"He continues to speak fondly of his time at the US Army War College in Carlisle and welcomes closer US-India strategic cooperation," the cable says.
"He has a genuine soft spot for the Eastern Command, given his experiences as its commander and as one of its officers in the 1971 India-Pakistan War" the cable adds.
When Singh was probed on the Chinese border incursions, the cable says that he was more reserved on the sensitive topic. The US diplomats also described Arunachal Pradesh as 'the Indian border state'.
"While dismissing media hype over alleged Chinese border incursions into the Indian border state of Arunachal Pradesh, he (Gen Singh) acknowledged differences between the two countries on the matter. While more reserved on the sensitive topic, he hypothesized three areas of potential future conflict between China and India: clash of actual "hard" Interests (border, water, energy), regional ambitions, and global alliances.''
The cable adds, "He interpreted Chinese protests over Arunachal Pradesh as a not-so-subtle Chinese reminder to India of its presence in the neighbourhood and concern over improving India-US relations in light of US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement."