New Delhi: In a stern message to China, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that India will not spare anyone if harmed asserting that the country has emerged as a powerful country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Additionally, Singh also sent a subtle message to the United States, which has raised eyebrows over India's trade deals with Russia amid the Ukraine war, that New Delhi does not believe in a diplomacy of zero-sum game and its relationship with one country cannot be at the expense of the other.
While addressing the Indian-American community in San Francisco, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, "I cannot say openly what they (Indian soldiers) did and what decisions we (the government) took. But I can definitely say that a message has gone (to China) that India will not spare anyone if India is harmed," news agency PTI reported.
Singh's sharp jibe at China was on the backdrop of Beijing's repetitive efforts to escalate the standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries deployed at the Ladakh Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Relations between India and China took a nosedive after a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas in Ladakh that has been on the edge over border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries since May 5, 2020.
The face-off escalated after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15, 2020 where around 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops were killed.
Defence Minister told the select gathering at a reception hosted in his honour by the Indian Consulate in San Francisco about the valour shown by Indian soldiers on the border with China.
Meanwhile, without making any direct reference to America, Singh said India does not believe in a zero-sum game diplomacy.
"If India has a good relationship with one country, it does not mean that its relationship with any other country will deteriorate, he said. India has never adopted this kind of diplomacy. India will never opt for this (kind of diplomacy). We don't believe in the zero-sum game in international relationships," PTI quoted the minister as saying.
India, he said, believes in having a bilateral relationship which is based on win-win for both the countries.
Today we have a new and confident Bharat, he said, adding that India is headed to be among the top three economies of the world.
(With inputs from PTI.)