''LAC Clash Raises Serious Questions About China's Intentions''

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton’s recent tell-all book, The Room Where It Happened, has hit the Trump administration hard. In an exclusive interview with Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa, Bolton talks about the challenge from China, Trump’s foreign policy—and why India’s air strike in Balakot in 2019 finds only passing mention in his book. Excerpts:

- Raj Chengappa

Q. I was surprised you made only a passing mention of the strikes the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted deep inside Pakistan territory in February 2019 in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack. It was the first time India had used its air force to strike— against a militant group—inside Pakistan since the 1971 war.

A. The episode was important to India and the United States, but as I described in the book, the [US] secretary of state, the president and I were in Hanoi to meet Kim Jong-un for the second summit on the North Korean nuclear weapons program, and we were in touch with the acting secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff back in Washington, DC. We spoke with our counterparts in India and Pakistan and the confrontation ended. I take your point entirely—this was potentially a very significant military confrontation, very risky behavior on Pakistan’s part. The Indian government displayed great restraint. It is something the United States needs to give much more importance to [given the] expanding and deepening US-India relationship. We have many common threats to discuss. We have some issues between us that need to be resolved, but there is no underestimating the importance of stronger India-US connections for the rest of the century.

Q. Did the IAF strike the terror camps in Balakot and were there casualties? You were the US national security advisor, you would have known what happened.