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Army chief was pally with US diplomats: WikiLeaks (Keywords: China, US etc)

Bl[i]tZ

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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."
Source - Army chief was pally with US diplomats: WikiLeaks
 
Nothing wrong in what I have read.

He is a forthright man and would do well for the IA . His assesments mentioned above are right as well.
 
Nothing wrong in what I have read.

He is a forthright man and would do well for the IA . His assesments mentioned above are right as well.

I agree! I had heard him speak on youtube when he was inducted into the United States Army War College (Class of 2001 graduate) International Fellows Hall of Fame. He is a man with a vision.
 
This is news? Is it not common sense for defence chiefs to keep cordial relations with close allies? It would have been news if he had kept cold relations but this is to be expected especially given his time in the US.

Also show the contrast with India's western neighbour where the COAS' opposite number there is held with a high degree of suspicion.
 
Note how "friendly and open" becomes "Army chief was pally with US diplomats". The report that essentially states "The Army Chief is a nice dude" gets turned into "Is there something fishy going on?"

That's Times of India for you people!
 

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