Military & Aerospace

Facing the Dragon : is India prepared?
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Issue Vol 25.1 Jan-Mar2010 | Date : 18 Oct , 2010

On the naval front, the previous Naval Chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta had stated that China was shaping the maritime battlefield in the region and had cautioned that the Chinese are looking 20 years ahead. As per an official from the Indian Navy, China has increased its nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean. These reports while a source of concern are not something which cannot be dealt with, given the time frames involved.

As per an official from the Indian Navy, China has increased its nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean.

While India has the present capability to address its security concerns across the LAC, much needs to be done to maintain a conventional military deterrent in pursuit of its genuine security concerns. A war in the high Himalayas will be a costly proposition for both India and China and should best be avoided. The Chinese are however further increasing the conventional gap between the two forces through a rapid process of modernisation and improving infrastructure in Tibet. China thinks strategically and acts decisively; the Chinese military modernisation programme is the biggest manifestation of this since it is the largest in the history of the world. While this issue needs to be addressed with the utmost concern, there appears to be no real movement towards this end. The defence budget has remained stagnant as a percentage of GDP and available trends do not suggest a change in this aspect.

From the army point of view, a much greater push is required in improving infrastructure especially with respect to logistics and communications. Procurement of guns for the artillery needs to be expedited and thought needs to be given to match Chinese missile capability so as to achieve effective deterrence. The Air force needs to ensure it has a combat edge over PLAAF in Tibet for which appropriations in the defence budget may need to be readjusted. India should also focus on developing its naval capability with a power projectionist role giving greater emphasis on the ‘anti-access’ strategy. While the biggest Chinese vulnerability in the political sphere is present in the form of Tibet, with a possibility of serious domestic fallout for the Chinese, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is also a serious Chinese concern as nearly 60 percent of their oil passes through the Indian Ocean.

But what really needs to be done to improve the state of defence preparedness in India is higher defence reform. We have an antiquated civil – military relationship which has failed to grow and mature in step with the needs of modern day security challenges. Thus, while the Service Chiefs are responsible and accountable for their respective services, they lack real authority which rests with Indian bureaucracy without the attendant accountability. Perhaps the time has come to question the role of the defence secretary and other civilian officials in the Ministry of Defence. Could we think of making the post of Defence Secretary redundant once the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff is created? Could we think in terms of four ‘4 star’ ranked officers in theatre commands to look after India’s security concerns against China, Pakistan, the Indian Ocean Region and our nuclear assets? Could we have a National Security Advisor from the defence services rather than from the civil bureaucracy or the police services? These issues need to be debated, and hopefully, some will be implemented.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch

former Director of CLAWS and is currently the editor of SALUTE Magazine.

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