General Bipin Rawat, the Indian Army chief, on Saturday said that future conflicts will be more "violent and unpredictable" and the battlefield will be "severely contested and seamlessly connected."
Speaking at a seminar marking the 20th anniversary of India's heroics in Kargil against Pakistan, news agency ANI quoted Rawat as saying: "In future, even conventional conflicts are likely to have a large asymmetric component leading to now what is being termed 'hybrid war'. Technology has become a key driver of future wars."
General Rawat, however, stressed: "Our soldiers are and will remain our primary assets."
About the Kargil conflict, Rawat said despite several odds, including several operations conducted on arduous terrain and diplomatic necessities, the valiant forces and nation were proud in achieving a resounding victory.
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Lashing out at Pakistan, he said its army, time and again, resorts to misadventure either through flawed proxy wars and state-sponsored terror or intrusions.
"Indian Army stands resolute to defend our territory. Let there be no doubt that any misadventure will be repelled with a punitive response," he said.
Rawat also clarified that there had been no intrusion by the Chinese in Ladakh's Demchok sector, a week after reports of Chinese troops crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) surfaced.
"There is no intrusion," Rawat said.
Tibetans hoisted Tibetan flags on the occasion of Dalai Lama's birthday on July 6 which had reportedly irked the Chinese.
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"Chinese come and patrol to their perceived Line of Actual Control...we try and prevent them. But at times there are celebrations that take place at the local levels.
"Celebrations were going on our side by our Tibetans in the Demchok sector. Based on that, some Chinese also came to see what was happening. But there have been no intrusions. Everything is normal," news agency PTI quoted the Army chief as saying.
India and China share a disputed border and the armies of the two countries were engaged in a stand-off for 73 days in 2017 in Doklam.
(With inputs from agencies)
