Indian Defence Review

External Security

India’s strategic perspectives are shaped by her history, geography, geo-political realities and the demands of real-politik. Our native culture, our innate traditions of trust and tolerance and our vision of world peace shape our national character which in turn, impacts on our international relations. These vital parameters are as relevant today as they have been earlier. India shares borders with 11 neighbours. Our relations with some are uneasy and with some, hostile. Any unrest within this somewhat hostile neighbourhood spills over into our borders in many forms and with depressing regularity. Unless these geo-political cross currents affecting us are subdued, they would continue to thwart our desire to move forward. Hence, the first priority becomes improving relations with our immediate neighbours. They have been hostage to regional political blackmail in the past. With this massive mandate, the government needs to move forward. The PM has already indicated this by his visits to Bhutan and Nepal.

Among the neighbours, Pakistan remains an immediate concern. We do need to continue dialogue on our own terms but not by bending over backwards. I do believe that initiating military to military dialogue will be an out-of-the-box step that is likely to pay dividends. Start at an innocuous level like medical, meteorological, sports exchanges and invitations to seminars and see how it pans out. It is important that our politicos repose complete faith in our military. As a matter of policy, we must insist on Pakistan ceasing support to terrorism before dialogue can progress.

China is another major concern; we must engage China but from a position of strength. We have a window of 10 to 15 years in which to strengthen the NE in terms of infrastructure. Our missile reach must be enhanced to achieve the desired deterrence. Naval presence in the Indian Ocean must be more tangible. But this is a long term plan. In the short term, we must engage China in infrastructure and trade. Be patient. The Chinese think in terms of a thousand years. They have long memories. One last input. They set a lot of store by ‘face’. Loss of face cannot be countenanced. This reduces chances of major misadventures.

The ‘Look East’ policy had been re-energised during the Manmohan regime. I am confident that the PM will pursue this actively. Japan, Vietnam and Myanmar have a lot to offer us. In fact, presently our national interests also show congruence in the face of Chinese stance on the South China Sea. Australia however, needs to be taken with a pinch of salt in view of her other alliances. Relations with USA, Russia, EU, UK, Israel and the Arab World appear to be on track and part of the long term perspective.

National interest is something India needs to learn from America. Regardless of the provocation, national interest must always dictate the actions of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Though the frequency has reduced, we have looked so foolish standing on our high moral horse time and again at the cost of our national interests. Whilst it is true that the internal situation does colour our external relations, at one stage the MEA had achieved the impossible. We have had poor relations with all our neighbours. This is something we have to correct from the word ‘go’.

Defence

The Defence Secretary is responsible for the defence of India. The Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force are attached offices to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Herein lies the defence conundrum. Perpetuated by the innate civil-military trust deficit since the Nehruvian era, no government has addressed this malaise over the last six decades. Events in neighbouring countries have strengthened the trust deficit. The result is the Armed Forces of India have no say in the decision making process; the security apparatus functions with minimal inputs from the services; civilian control over the military has been misinterpreted to ridiculous levels and bureaucrats rule the roost. The topic deserves an entire chapter, nay, an entire book. I wish to make some brief suggestions to the government which may ameliorate some of the ill effects.

Integration: The MOD and the Services must be integrated and brought on a par with other Ministries. Lip service has been paid to this aspect many a time. We may start at lower levels like Director/Colonel equivalent and gradually build up after stabilisation. Rescind the order terming Services HQs as attached offices and make them a part of the decision making process.

Budget and Procurement: The Defence Budget needs to be upped to at least three per cent of GDP. This has been long pending. The argument given is that even now there is unspent money at the end of the financial year. This is basically due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is sometimes done deliberately by Finance so that reallocation to other sectors can be done. Secondly, it is due to incompetence or indifference at bureaucratic level because they have no accountability. Lastly, it happens due to inherent delays in the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). This came into vogue in 2006 and has been refined. I do not think it can be refined further. We need to take a new look at it, simplify it and make it more effective.

Middlemen: Corruption in defence deals is attributed to this species. Time and again the media throws up news of notorious names and the damage to the exchequer. We must understand there is no country in the world where foreign companies operate without middlemen. They may be termed ‘agents’ or ‘facilitators’ or ‘liaison’. In India, the rules of business are so complex that our own companies would find it difficult to prosecute business without liaison, not to talk of foreign firms. The government had tried to register the names of middlemen a decade ago. The terms and conditions were so onerous and intrusive that naturally, none came forward. We need to permit middlemen, register them and ensure they pay their taxes for what they receive. This will achieve transparency and in fact reduce corruption. A common belief is that this is one of the ways to enhance party funding and hence the reluctance to permit middlemen.

Indigenisation: Indigenisation, no doubt, is a crying need. India is one of the biggest importers of arms in the world; indigenisation cannot take place overnight. We have to create conditions for it to happen. Over the next ten years, we are likely to spend $230 billion on defence. At 30 per cent offsets, the figure is staggering. Can our industry handle such offsets? Does the private sector have the strength and capacity to absorb such amounts? We need to simplify our rules to enable the private sector.

The recent decision to enhance the limit of FDI to 49 per cent may help to some extent. There are two things we need to set in motion at the earliest. First is a reorganisation of the DRDO and the Ordnance Factories to make them accountable and efficient. The second is a restructuring of HAL, our biggest PSU to make it more capable. The results will be visible in three to four years and gradually we would move towards indigenisation.

Pending Issues: Some issues that could be addressed early have been clubbed. One Rank One Pension (OROP) is an issue affecting the morale of thousands of veterans and needs resolution. Second, the 7th Pay Commission, like its predecessors, has no representative from the Services. Third, a vast country like ours whose soldiers have fought so many wars does not have a National War Memorial of its own. It is a matter of national shame and needs to be put right.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS): Any discussion on defence reforms is incomplete without reference to a CDS. Many acknowledged experts feel that this is the panacea that will set right everything. They are even ready to accept a purely cosmetic appointment of a permanent Chairman of COSC. However, my views are that different countries have different formulations of CDS. In some, the CDS looks after Operations and the three Chiefs provide the forces. Others have the CDS in charge of training, provisioning, logistics and intelligence. In some countries, the CDS looks after budgeting and procurement. We need to decide what type of CDS is most suitable for us. Joint Operations doctrine naturally flows down to Theatre Commands. This is effective when you envisage regular operations away from the homeland. We do not envisage such ops. Exigencies can be dealt with by special joint operations.

Joint operations need technology which enables the Commander to control remote areas of influence. We do not possess such technology. So far, adequate emphasis has not been laid on ‘Jointness’ in career progression. That means only those who have served on joint billets can be promoted beyond a certain level. The appointment for a CDS is imperative; we just need to decide on what kind of CDS we require. Personnel also need to be groomed for joint operations and the necessary technology developed. The need of the hour for the Army is tanks, howitzers and ammunition while the Navy requires ships, submarines, torpedoes and missiles. The Air Force’s requirement of the day is aircraft, missiles and radars. Ongoing contracts to restore and refurbish our fighting forces need to be completed first before any restructuring can take place.

My take on CDS may be summarised thus. Let us start the debate, develop technology. In three to five years, let the CDS look after budgeting and acquisitions for all the Services besides Joint Commands, strategic weapons and Intelligence. Most importantly, he needs to be the single point of military advice to the Defence Minister and the PM. We should think of a parallel approach with the Defence Secretary dealing with inter-ministry issues and the CDS with military issues. Will the government accept so much power vested in one military person? Will the bureaucracy permit such a trespass on their traditional turf? These are questions that have to be answered first.

Conclusion

We do not have a national character or a national religion. We are not agreed upon a national language; neither do we understand national interest nor do we sport national pride openly. We do not possess a ‘Brand India’. Having been ruled by foreign powers for a thousand years, the scars manifest themselves in our behaviour. Independence was attained with very little bloodshed thanks to the struggles and sacrifices of a few great men and women and so, not everyone has felt the pain. We have got democracy before literacy. Hence we undervalue it. We are not responsible citizens and we do not take our duties as citizens seriously. It boggles the imagination that despite these impediments, we have continued as a successful democracy for more than 60 years. We are deeply emotional. Once we take someone to our hearts, we raise him to the highest pedestal, that of a demi-God. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one such individual. The public manifestation is the massive mandate given to him in the recent elections. Every Indian expects him to set things right. Sometimes, I sympathise with him because the sheer weight of public expectations must be wearing him down every day. Time is at a premium. He has taken over the reins of government at a time when India’s stock is low in the world in terms of credit rating. The inaction of the outgoing government has left him with myriads of problems. The world economy is in a slowdown mode. El Nino is delaying the monsoon. The war in Iraq has affected demand and supply of oil. Prices of common goods are rising. He has thousands of priorities before him and he knows that, finally, hard, unpalatable decisions will have to be taken.

My thinking on how to handle some of the priorities has been put down in this paper. I am sure the government is aware of most of them. Some measures to clean up the administration have already been initiated in Delhi. I have made special mention of the priorities in Defence and Security sectors. All priorities will have to measure up against a time graph; some more imperative than others. Some have to be initiated immediately for the effect to be felt later. Some will have to be sounded out against the political sounding board or the international environment. Some will have to be abandoned after a cost benefit analysis, to be tried out at a more propitious time.

Whatever be the method, it has to be a combined effort. Not only the government but also the opposition has to fall in line on issues dealing with national interests. The whole country will have to learn to tighten its belt for some tough measures. We citizens will have to exert the national will to overcome the ills of corruption, delayed decisions and lack of governance. Remember, there is no magic wand. Patience should be the order of the day. I have no doubt that if each one of us exercises more discipline, does our own job sincerely and keeps national interest in mind, good days will come and India will once again take its rightful place in the new world order.