He predicts that the geopolitical importance of Russia will fall with time while China will become more assertive, contributing to an emergence of a multipolar world order

General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) and Secretary DMA, delivered the keynote speech at the 14th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture at the HAL Management Academy on Saturday.

India may emerge as the leader of the global south in the near future, said General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) and Secretary DMA, at the 14th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture organised by the Air Force Association (Karnataka Branch), in association with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), on Saturday.

He was delivering a keynote address on the inevitable changes in the geopolitical, geo-economic, and geo-technology spaces and their impact on national security, besides touching upon some expected reforms in the country’s defence forces. "We are entering an age that is uncertain and uncharted...it's almost like an Ice Age. (We) will require some kind of transformative change. We are entering an era of great disruption, which will bring turmoil, disorder, upheaval and turbulence," he said.

He predicts that the geopolitical importance of Russia will fall with time while China will become more assertive, contributing to an emergence of a multipolar world order. "There will be no permanent friends, there will be no permanent enemies, and this relationship between friends and enemies will evolve faster than ever before."