New Delhi – India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has warned against biological warfare during an inaugural function of a BIMSTEC event. General Rawat said that biological warfare is evolving to be a new kind of warfare and the countries need to be prepared to tackle it. He added that the military needs to lead the fight to counter threats emerging due to biowarfare. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Naravane said the emergence of a new mutant variant implied that the pandemic was far from over.
The Coronavirus, which caused a pandemic, originated in China. However, to date, China has not shared reliable information regarding its origin to the world. China has been accused of concealing the details at the start. Besides, it has systematically planned to allow the virus to spread worldwide. Some analysts have presented evidence against China of deploying biological warfare. Brazilian President Bolsonaro had openly accused China of imposing the pandemic on the world. Many serving and retired officials of a few countries have unofficially suggested the Coronavirus to be a conspiracy of China. Against this backdrop, the warning issued given by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Rawat, about biological warfare is significant.
General Rawat issued this warning while speaking at the inaugural function of the Panacea-21 Disaster Mitigation exercise organised by BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In the last few years, there have been many natural and man-made disasters worldwide, including floods caused by tsunamis, earthquakes, and Coronavirus pandemic. General Rawat emphasised the need to be prepared to face such disasters and appealed to all countries to unite and be ready to provide the necessary assistance to each other.
‘A new variant of the Coronavirus, the Omicron, has surfaced and such crisis will keep developing even in the future. This could be part of biological warfare and we must be ready to face this new war strategy.’ said General Rawat. He also said that the army should be ready to provide all possible assistance to the country in such a challenging situation. Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane also warned that the Coronavirus pandemic would not end soon, citing the emergence of the new variant, Omicron. A few days ago, the country’s new naval chief, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, also said that the Coronavirus pandemic was challenging for the defence forces. Therefore, the Coronavirus can be considered a biological weapon. The defence forces are cautious of not letting the pandemic affect their readiness and capability. Advice from the defence forces to be prepared to face this crisis in unison is of great importance and make the country aware of the threats posed by biological warfare.
Meanwhile, BIMSTEC war exercises have been organised in Pune from December 20 to 22. It is said that there will be multi-agency exercises, seminars, and tabletop exercises.
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