I would like China to be a friendly neighbour: George Fernandes

Defence Minister George Fernandes spoke to Executive Editor Prabhu Chawla and Senior Editor Manoj Joshi. Excerpts:Q. You are seen as anti-China?A.I am neither anti-China nor anti-Pakistan. I am pro my country. As minister of defence, my concern is to see that my country's defences are in proper shape.Q. Did you say that China is a potential threat or were the words put in your mouth?A.That was put in my mouth. I never used the word enemy. As defence minister, it is my job to evaluate the threat perceptions of my country and I will do it.Q. So is there a threat from China?A.Let me put it this way. China is a powerful country, a nuclear power, one of the five major powers of the world. I have a perception to which I gave vent.Q. Do you want to share this perception with the people?A.Yes I do. I don't believe that only those who sit within the four walls of this room have the right to know and others do not. The defence expenditure proposed in the interim budget is Rs 40,000 crore. When you are asking people to contribute that much of money to the defence services then they should know why so much money is needed. Once they know the challenges, they will make the sacrifices. There are no soft options in matters of security. If we have to stand up, we have to take the hard options.Q. What are those hard options?A.I will not spell them out at this point ... We have said that if our threat perception makes us believe we need to go for the nuclear bomb, we will go for it. The hard option is that when you talk of a bomb, you need a lot of money.Q. Are people getting confused about the difference between foreign policy and security policy?A.I am only expressing my concerns. Words have been put in the print media which I have never uttered. All this is very unfair to the defence forces and very unfair to me. But damn me, the country's security is much bigger than me or anyone of us.Q. What have you learnt in your eight weeks as defence minister?A.A lot. People are not aware of the conditions in which our troops are functioning. I have new insights which make me aware of what I need to do. I am shocked at the callousness in understanding the troops and their problems.Q. Like?A.Take Siachen. Today, the jawans have to walk the 70 km long glacier carrying a 35 kg kit on their backs. Providing snowmobiles to them can make a world of difference. I saw only two there. Give them 30, 40 or 50 more. You can't make life much easier there, but at least give them some facilities.Q. Are you making a case for more money for the defence forces for technology upgradation?A. I believe the defence needs more money. I will tell you something. I am not letting you into any secret, so I hope nobody makes another issue of this. There is ammunition lying in the open. I will not name the places. But you'll be shocked to know that ammunition worth several thousand crores of rupees does not have a shed. I can't accept this.Q. What is your position on Tibet? Are you a supporter of free Tibet or of human rights in Tibet ?A.As minister, I pursue my Government's policy.Q. Would you say China is a friendly neighbour?A.I would like it to be a friendly neighbour.Q. There is a feeling that George Fernandes is running away with the BJP's national security agenda.A.Well, I think the national security agenda cannot be any party's agenda. If we consider national security as a party agenda, then we may land ourselves in a desperate situation.Q. Do you have the backing of your Government?A.I have absolutely no reasons not to believe that.Q. Are you attacking China because you can't attack the US?A.No, I don't have any political agenda here. I am more concerned with my responsibilities as India's Raksha Mantri.Q. You are guided purely by national interest?A.Yes, nothing more and nothing less.Published By: AtMigration Published On: May 18, 1998--- ENDS ---

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I would like China to be a friendly neighbour: George Fernandes

Defence Minister George Fernandes spoke to Executive Editor Prabhu Chawla and Senior Editor Manoj Joshi.

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