“The international security environment is transitioning between two competing world orders,” was the sober message from Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff, while addressing an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation on Tuesday evening. “India must be ready to respond across the entire conflict spectrum,” he warned, pointing to the shifts in the US strategic posture that was complicating the situation.
He also pointed to India’s immediate neighbourhood where “There is a possible convergence of interests between China, Pakistan and Bangladesh that may impact India’s stability and security dynamics.”
Nearly 80% of Pakistan’s military hardware has been sourced from China in the last five years, he noted and “it’s reasonable to assume that Chinese OEMs have ongoing commercial and a physical footprint within Pakistan.”
Calling for year round operational readiness, Gen Chauhan stressed that “There is currently no foolproof defence against ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles or large scale drone attacks.”
India’s less than cordial relationship with the interim administration in Dhaka, it’s overtures to Pakistan and the uncertainty over what shape the future political dispensation in Bangladesh could take, underscores Delhi’s growing concern over its eastern frontiers. The civil war in Myanmar is another issue.
In his view, even as India focuses on the modernisation of its defence and security, “A resilient and dynamic economy is the bedrock of national power. It ensures sustainable development and strategic autonomy.”
He had a word of caution for India’s political leadership. “For a multilingual, multiethnic and multireligious country like India, internal security is paramount. It must be embedded into our broader social security architecture.”
He touched on Operation Sindoor which, he said, demonstrated India’s ability to conduct integrated operations across domains, and while it was “non-contact warfare” in the sense that there was no physical contact between the two armies, “it is a unique example of conventional conflict between two nuclear weapon states.”
In his view, India’s nuclear doctrine and the principle of No First Use, “gives us the strength to act, and Pakistan’s escalatory response pushed the conflict into a conventional domain, limiting its own nuclear response.”
The fact that China did nothing on the borders with India could be attributed to the short duration of the conflict. There is however enough evidence of China providing satellite intelligence to Pakistan.
Gen Chauhan released the ORF Foreign Policy Survey 2024: Young India And The China Challenge authored by six scholars including Harsh Pant, Vice-President of Studies & Foreign Policy at the ORF. The survey revealed broad support among India’s youth for the foreign policy being pursued by the government. The survey showed China as India’s biggest challenge and the need to align with the US, also concern about the direction of Russia-China relations. Details can be had at Foreign Policy Survey 2024: Young India and the China Challenge.
