Macho talks on security issues bother me: V.K. Singh

Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh on Saturday said macho talks by "videogame soldiers" in the country bothered him.

"When I look at the security issues, only one thing bothers me. Some people are videogame soldiers, not actual soldiers. When the video game soldiers start talking macho things, there is a great danger because they do not understand the consequences of war or consequences of being a soldier," said Gen. Singh (retd.) without specifically referring to anyone.

"We have got a lot of very macho talk at a very senior level. It can create problems, especially when your lower lot realises that you have the strength to do the things which you are being taught to," the former army chief said at a seminar organised by the Centre for Eastern and North Eastern Regional Studies, Kolkata.

"I leave it for you to interpret," he said when asked to elaborate.

He said China has the economic clout and India is still striving to get this, and while India has more arable land than China, production per acre is one third of the Chinese production.

"China has put its efforts to being a peer competitor to the US or excel it. Everything is geared that way - whether it is economics or relations around the world, military or the restructuring of the military," he said.

--IANS

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