Neither Russia and China nor the Central Asian countries have a clear strategy on how to handle the rapidly changing canvas in Afghanistan. An ambivalent waiting game tied by slow calibrated response has become the sine qua non strategy for the stakeholders in Afghanistan.
Unless the armed forces and the security establishment take a singular approach to warfighting, which includes evolving a singular concept of warfighting, identifying threats and challenges, and medium and long-term capability development goals, differences that make headlines will continue to recur time and again.
The armed forces ethos and sacrificial ideology needs to be earnestly adopted by all our citizens in their individual capacities to help in faster national pandemic recovery.
If India-Pakistan dialogue does resume, India is unlikely to return to the Manmohan-Musharraf framework of negotiations because of the Modi government’s commitment to regain Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
India and America enjoy amity in their bilateral relationship, but both share adversarial relations with China. What has cemented their global strategic partnership is the threat that both countries perceive from China. This pattern appears set to continue into the medium term.
Executing extra-territorial targeted killings to eliminate inimical people bent on wrecking death and destruction on Indian nationals and interests is an option India may explore more vigorously, within the confines of international law.
While Rafale’s enhanced combat capabilities has added punch to India’s airpower, the developing threat scenario in India’s neighbourhood lends urgency to upgrading the IAF’s largest combat fleet, the Sukhoi fighters, to retain edge over the enemy.
China is no longer interested in maintaining previous patterns of its relationships with India and US. It seeks to forge new types of relationships that are reflective of the extant balance of power. China expects India to demonstrate awed subservience and refrain from security cooperation with US.
Japan’s quest for pre-emptive strike capability indicates a major shift in its defence doctrine. It is only a matter of time before Japan takes up such an offensive defence doctrine carrying a high possibility of conflict initiation/escalation with it.
Aerial drones are fast making way into military operations. With further advancement of technology, their role in warfare is set to increase exponentially. The new generation aerial drones promise to be at the centre stage of military operations in future warfare, in both lethal and non-lethal roles.
What Should Define Integration of Armed Forces?
Unless the armed forces and the security establishment take a singular approach to warfighting, which includes evolving a singular concept of warfighting, identifying threats and challenges, and medium and long-term capability development goals, differences that make headlines will continue to recur time and again.