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Page 4sikkim standoff — china’s dilemma?

China has resolved its borders with all its neighbours less India and Bhutan because of its expansionist aims towards the Indian Ocean

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Page 6Theatre commands — long overdue“The functioning of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) has, to date, revealed serious weaknesses in its ability to provide single point military advice to the government, and resolve substantive inter-Service doctrinal, planning, policy and operational issues adequately. This institution needs to be appropriately revamped to discharge its responsibilities efficiently and effectively, including the facilitation of “jointness” and synergy among the Defence Services.”

—GoM Report post Kargil Crisis of 1999

lt General p.c. Katoch (retd)

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full financial powers to Vice-chief of the army staff to maintain combat-readiness 5

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Indian army Team with T90 Tanks participate in Tank Biathlon 2017 in russia 5

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SP’s A N S P G U I D E P U B L I C A T I O N

The ONlY magaziNe iN asia-Pacific DeDicaTeD TO laND fORces

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nda’s achievements in defence sector in Three YearsIndia adopted the current dispensation of defence acquisition organisation, structures and procedures in 2002

Lt GEnEraL V.K. Kapoor (rEtd)

The Modi GovernMent which completes three years on May 26, 2017, is planning to celebrate their achievements by putting out a report card giving out sta-

tistics of their achievements in the last three years of national democratic Alli-

ance’s (ndA) governance. this analysis aims to highlight some of the important steps taken by the government while not-ing the challenges facing us in the defence sector and is by no means a comprehensive coverage of the subject.

Defence Sector Reforms: Backdropindia’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party

won a landmark victory in the country’s general elections. But Prime Minister nar-endra Modi inherited from the outgoing United Progressive Alliance (UPA) govern-ment a defence ministry besieged by scan-dal and Armed Forces desperately short of critical assets. the situation was such that as per media reports even ammunition of tanks and artillery guns was in short

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying homage at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate, on the occasion of the 68th Republic Day Parade 2017, in New Delhi

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supply affecting training of personnel and operational preparedness of units and for-mations for war.

A few years prior to the present ndA regime taking over the reins of the govern-ment, the country witnessed various scan-dals such as the ordnance Factory Board scam, tatra-BeML military vehicle procure-ment, vviP choppers (Agustawestland helicopters) and the the rolls-royce-hAL kickback scandal. As a result, nine oeMs including four major international compa-nies were blacklisted by the government. Since then through various procurements including import of some categories of ammunition and missiles and streamlin-ing the indigenous manufacture of certain categories of ammunition, the situation has been stabilised.

As far back as June 2014 according to the Strategic defence intelligence report the Future of the indian defence industry – Market Attractiveness, competitive Land-scape and Forecasts to 2019, the market was expected to grow at a cAGr of 9.83 per cent during the period 2015-19 with a cumulative spending of $241.2 billion. india was expected to present ample busi-ness opportunities for oeMs in the areas of multi-role aircraft, training aircraft, infan-try fighting vehicles (iFvs), frigates, ballis-tic missiles, submarines, ammunition, air defence systems, military infrastructure and military rotorcraft among many others.

one can say with certainty that while there have been many ideas and plans that have been mooted and deals put into the pipeline covering all three services, how-ever on the ground the situation remains unchanged. while many new systems have been earmarked for procurement in ‘Buy and Make’ category but by the time they are inducted into the combat units another five to 10 years time will elapse.

Defence Procurement Procedure 2016india adopted the current dispensation of defence acquisition organisation, structures and procedures in 2002. during the last 13 years, india has not been able to sign a single major defence contract in an open competi-tive environment under the provisions of the much trumpeted defence procurement pro-cedure (dPP). despite the fact that dPP has been subjected to six major reviews/revi-sions, no improvement has been discernible.

An expert committee under dhirendra Singh was constituted on May 1, 2015. the committee was tasked to evolve a policy framework to facilitate ‘Make in india’ in defence manufacturing and align the policy evolved with dPP-2013; and to suggest the requisite amendments in dPP-2013. dPP-2016 was thus formulated with the experience gained by the govern-ment in the defence procurement process and the recommendations of the dhiren-dra Singh committee. it came into effect from April 2016.

Most of the deals signed recently such as the 145, M777 155mm howit-zers, Kamov Ka-226 helicopters, Apache (attack helicopters) Ah id, and Airbus c295 transport aircraft, are under the cat-egory ‘Buy and Make’ which means initial procurement of limited quantity in fully formed state, followed by indigenous pro-duction through transfer of technology (tot). however none of these deals have fructified on the ground so far and the time frame for realisation of equipment would vary from 5 to 10 years once the initial deliveries start. An example can be taken of the M777 155mm howitzer. two guns have reached india which would be used by the Army for making range tables with indigenous ammunition. the induc-tion will commence from March 2019 onwards. induction schedule includes five guns per month from March onwards till all 145 are inducted by June 2021.

notwithstanding the delays that have occurred during the UPA regime what is heartening is that the Ministry of defence (Mod) has started working and reacting to the Services requirements ending the risk averse Antony era lethargy. the function-ing of the defence Ministry has been scam free so far.

Strategic Partnership with Indian IndustryBreaking new ground, the defence Acqui-sition council (dAc) under the chairman-ship of the defence Minister Arun Jaitley, on May 20, 2017, finalised the broad con-tours of a policy aimed at engaging the indian private sector in the manufacture of high-tech defence equipment in india. the policy, which was developed through exten-sive stakeholder consultations with indian industry, envisages the establishment of

long-term strategic partnerships with qualified indian industry majors through a transparent and competitive process wherein the indian industry partners would tie up with global oeMs to seek technology transfers and manufacturing know-how to set up domestic manufacturing infrastruc-ture and supply chains. the policy will give a boost to the ‘Make in india’ policy in the defence sector and set indian industry on the path to acquiring cutting-edge capabili-ties which will contribute to the building of self-reliance in the vital national security sector. the policy is expected to be imple-mented in a few selected segments to begin with, namely, fighter aircraft, submarines and armoured vehicles. in future, addi-tional segments may be added. Appropriate institutional mechanisms will be set in place to implement the policy.

One Rank One Pension (OROP) the government has fulfilled its promise to implement the long-pending oroP scheme for over 21 lakh veterans. the present scheme, however, does not entirely fulfill the recommendations of the Koshiyari Par-liamentary committee which had defined

oroP as ‘one rank one Pension’ (oroP) implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces Personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. hence disgruntlement still remains and the government will have to truthfully and sincerely look into the issue of ‘uniform pensions’ between the old and the new which has not been achieved despite the fact that the ndA Government has done more in this field than any other government in the past.

Chief of Defence Staff/Permanent Chairman COSCthe cdS is vital not only for providing single point military advise to the cabinet but also to usher in synergy vertically and horizontally between the three Services which is not satisfactory at the moment. Moreover in an era of scarce resources he will have to ensure judicious allocation and utilisation of defence budgets and pri-oritisation of procurements according to threats and challenges facing the coun-try. he would also ensure organisational reform to achieve closer jointmanship and integration of the three services and to transform the three Services into network-centric warfare (ncw) force capable of undertaking operations in the digitised battlefield of the future. this reform is awaiting the political nod.

Ammunition and Sparesthe beleaguered armed forces were empow-ered to procure emergency stocks of ammu-nition and spares to ensure that they could undertake at least 10 days of intense fight-ing if operations had to be undertaken with our potential adversaries at short notice though the existing policy lays down 30:30 concept which requires the nation to have ammunition stocks equivalent to 30 days intense rates and 30 days normal rates of expenditure.

Critical Deficiencies in Modern Equipmenteach service has a rather long list of obso-lescent weapon systems which need replace-ment urgently to retain the ability to fight modern wars in the future, especially in our

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As India strives to emerge as a strong regional power it faces for-midable security challenges. The most formidable of these stems from terrorism, in both its external and internal dimensions Ñ the transnational and home-grown, against which India has long waged a relentless fight. Despite efforts from the Indian side to ensure peace and tranquility through dialogue and negotiations, the democratically elected govern-ment of Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan has not been able to deliver. In the meanwhile on July 28, 2017, Nawaz Sharif was asked to step down on the verdict of disquali-

fication to hold public office pro-nounced by the Pakistan Supreme Court due to his alleged involve-ment in Panama Papers case.

The real power in Pakistan lies with the military and democracy is really a fa• ade as the Kashmir policy is dictated by the military. Pakistan has adopted the strategy of Ò bleeding India through a thou-sand cutsÓ ; waging a proxy war which indeed takes a heavy toll on a defensive India.

From July 2015 to September 18, 2016, when the terrorists con-ducted the Uri attack, five major terror attacks took place. These attacks prompted the govern-ment to become more proactive and aggressive in their approach to terrorism emanating from Paki-stan. On night September 27/28 the ArmyÕ s Special Forces carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control to eliminate seven terror launch pads and caused considerable casualities to the terrorists and the Pakistan army personnel involved.

Killing of the young militant Burhan Wani in Kashmir by the

Indian security forces on July 8, 2016, started a new phase of restlessness of the youth in the Kashmir valley. Stone pelting became a way of life in the val-ley where the youth took to pelt-ing stones at the security forces, without any provocation and quite often to provide an escape route for the terrorists being hunted by the security forces. The stone pelting by the youth in the val-ley became a new phenomenon which had to be countered by the police and security forces without use of lethal force, which in itself proved to be a unique challenge. This resulted in a changed strat-egy by security forces.

The government, in the mean-while, has tasked the National Investigation Agency to probe the huge amounts of money trans-ferred to various groups of sepa-ratists in Kashmir. Pakistani intelli-gence agency ISI has established a network of donors in foreign countries who donate money for Kashmir insurgency to feed the unrest in the Valley.

In the meanwhile, in the

Eastern theatre, in the area of tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan and China another situation was developing. On June 20, 2017, Bhutan served a demarche to China against the Chinese arbi-trary action of constructing a road in the Doklam Plateau, which is property of the King of Bhutan. They have asked China to stop road constructions and refrain from changing the status quo.

The Chinese have long nib-bled at BhutanÕ s borders without India doing too much about it in the past. At the Dokalam plateau the Chinese army has been mak-ing motorable paths, and convert-ing them into roads and slowly encroaching on the Bhutanese claim area. The Indian military are quite clear this plateau matters to them. If China were to take it over, the tri-junction of the India-China-Bhutanese border would actually move southward several kilome-ters and thus be a threat to the territory of India. Much of Beijing’s outrage is its surprise that, India has unilaterally changed the rules of the game.

The only solution to the Chi-nese pressure tactics is that Indian stands firm on the principle that the only viable solution is simultaneous withdrawal from the standoff region.

This issue of SP’s Land Forces contains informative articles on NDAs achievements in the Defence Sector in three years, Sikkim Stand-off and The-atre Commands.

CorrigendumIn the previous issue of SP’s Land Forces (2/2017), the illus-tration showing China Pakistan Economic Corridor inadvertently reflected incorrect international boundary between India and Pakistan. The error is deeply regretted!

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The defence and security requirements, in light of the current and future threats and challenges, need to be analysed very carefully by the government taking the help defence experts in the field. The work required to be undertaken in this field is so enormous that delays would be disastrous for national security.

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case as we need to equip ourselves for fac-ing two opponents on two widely separated fronts against china in the north and east and Pakistan in the west.

in the recent times the government has to their credit hastened the process of acquiring some of the critical deficiencies of the three services. however they will fructify over the next 5 to 10 years. these include government to government deals like the ones for 36 rafale fighters from France, 145 M777 ultra-light howitzers, and 22 Apache attack and 15 chinook heavy-lift helicopters from the US. con-tract negotiations are also on for procur-ing 56, Airbus c295 transport aircraft to replace the Avro fleet. the aircraft will be made in india by the tata group and the requirements may go up due the needs of the coast Guard and the drdo who are likely to configure the platform for multi mission maritime roles.

in the indian Army there is an urgent need to induct new assault rifles with night fighting capabilities, carbines, sniper rifles, fourth generation anti-tank guided missiles, air defence guns and missiles; night fight-ing capability for tanks and infantry com-bat vehicles, about 3,000 assorted artillery pieces of 155mm calibre; specialised equip-ment for Special Forces operations; and last but not the least about 200 light helicopters for observation, reconnaissance and sur-veillance, and liaison missions.

the indian navy urgently requires additional submarines, anti-submarine helicopters and helicopters for search and rescue, observation and reconnaissance and liaison. the navy also requires two more aircraft carriers for its operational capabilities on the western and eastern sea board thus totaling the requirement of air-craft carriers to three.

the indian Air Force (iAF) requires to urgently build up its fighter strength. the original requirement for rafale fighters was pegged at 126. however, the present government decided to induct 36 fighter aircraft at the earliest as the squadron strength of the iAF was falling below the acceptable limits. the production of tejas (light combat aircraft), which is to make-up the fighter strength of the iAF, is still not at the desired 16 planes-per-annum mark and it will take at least three to four years for new foreign collaborated jets to fructify.

Former defence Minister Manohar Parri-kar, addressing media persons at the 11th Aero india in February 2017, said: “talks for single-engine and twin-engine fighter jets are in advanced stages and we want to get them done in during current calendar year (2017)”. he listed the needs as “300 to 400 fighters”. on ramping up production of the tejas, Parrikar said: “we are putting in a second line at a cost of `1,359 crore. work will start in three months and production in two years.”

Full-time Raksha Mantrinot having a full-time raksha Mantri at a time when the nexus between china and Pakistan stands fully established and is impacting on india’s security scenario within and at the borders does not augur well for the country. Arun Jaitley, the cur-rent defence Minister, has held dual charge for almost six months in 2014, when the finance ministry was his first priority. Manohar Parrikar took over the charge for a little over two years, and after fully under-standing the functionality of the defence Ministry, he put the procurement process on rails. however with his returning to Goa as chief Minister, the uncertainty continues. Arun Jaitley who is dual-hatted once again cannot be expected to handle two vital min-istries both of which require fulltime atten-tion of its Minister.

Conclusionthe ndA government has certainly brought in more dynamism in the defence sector with faster decision making, but this advan-tage will be lost if we allow the situation to drift as was the case during the UPA regime. the defence and security requirements, in light of the current and future threats and challenges, need to be analysed very carefully by the government taking the help defence experts in the field. the work required to be undertaken in this field is so enormous that delays would be disastrous for national security.

Some of the tasks that need to be com-pleted expeditiously are: pragmatic and adequate allocation of defence Budget to ensure the making up of critical deficien-cies in each Service at the earliest, mod-ernising the obsolete equipment of all three Services, establishing the post of the cdS/Permanent chairman coSc, pruning the

organisations of each service to weed out the non essentials thus utilising the budget to achieve the required combat edge over the adversaries, and ensuring jointness and integration to improve our war waging

potential. the tasks involved place an oner-ous responsibility on the shoulders of the defence Minister and hence it is essential that a full time defence Minister is nomi-nated at the earliest. SP

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a LAwyer, veterAn PoLiticAL rePreSentA-tive and long-time advocate of egalitarianism and integrity in indian public life and society, ram

nath Kovind was born on october 1, 1945, in Paraunkh, near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. his parents were Maiku Lal and Kalawati.

Before assuming charge of the office of the 14th Presi-dent of india on July 25, 2017, Kovind served as the 36th Governor of the state of Bihar from August 16, 2015, to June 20, 2017.

Educational and Professional BackgroundKovind completed his school education in Kanpur and obtained the degrees of B.com and L.L.B. from Kanpur University. in 1971, he enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar council of delhi.

Kovind was Union Government Advocate in the delhi high court from 1977 to 1979 and Union Government Standing counsel in the Supreme court from 1980 to 1993. he became Advocate-on-record of the Supreme court of india in 1978. he practised at the delhi high court and Supreme court for 16 years till 1993.

Parliamentary and Public LifeKovind was elected as a member of the rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in April 1994. he served for two consecu-tive terms of six years each till March 2006. Kovind served on various Parliamentary committees like Parliamentary

committee on welfare of Scheduled castes/tribes; Par-liamentary committee on home Affairs; Parliamentary committee on Petroleum and natural Gas; Parliamentary committee on Social Justice and empowerment; and Parlia-mentary committee on Law and Justice. he was chairman of the rajya Sabha house committee.

Kovind also served as Member of the Board of Man-agement of the dr B.r. Ambedkar University, Lucknow, and Member of the Board of Governors of the indian insti-tute of Management, Kolkata. he was part of the indian delegation at the United nations and addressed the United nations General Assembly in october 2002.

Positions Held•  2015-17: Governor of  Bihar•   1994-2006: Member of  the Rajya Sabha, representing 

the state of Uttar Pradesh•   1971-75 and 1981: General Secretary, Akhil Bharatiya 

Koli Samaj •   1977-79:  Union  Government  Advocate  at  the  Delhi 

high court•   1982-84:  Union  Government  Junior  Counsel  in  the 

Supreme court

Personal DetailsKovind married Savita Kovind on May 30, 1974. they have a son, Prashant Kumar, and a daughter, Swati. An avid reader, the President has keen interest in reading books on politics and social change, law and history, and religion. during his long public career, Kovind has trav-elled widely across the country. he has also visited thai-land, nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and the United States in his capacity as a Member of Parliament. SP

The new supreme commander of The IndIan armed forces

The new President of India, Ram Nath Kovind

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Lt GEnEraL p.C. KatoCh (rEtd)

The SiKKiM StAndoFF Between PLA and the india Army is persist-ing. china has tried every trick in psychological warfare, using its official spokespersons and media,

which is all state-owned, to cajole, bully and threaten india with “dire consequenc-es” in case india does not withdraw but india has stood fast. even after the visit of national Security Adviser Ajit doval to Beijing, chinese media spread the fake news that india has reduced its presence in the standoff area but external Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has refuted this lie in Parliament.

Backgroundchina has resolved its borders with all its neighbours less india and Bhutan because of its expansionist aims towards the indian ocean. in successive border talks with Bhu-tan, china has successively expanded its claim lines, akin to what it has been doing with india, never handing over a map marked with what its ultimate claims are. For past several years, PLA (People’s Lib-eration Army) troops have forcibly intruded into the post of the royal Bhutan Army (rBA) in doklam Plateau, staying put for an hour or so, and telling rBA troops to vacate the plateau, claiming it as chinese terri-tory. the mere fact that a big country like china is indulging in such antics against a peaceful country like Bhutan that gives prominence to the happiness index of its citizens, shows to what extent china can stoop to illegally occupy territory, slicing it off salami-style, as she has been doing with india. china wants to capture the doklam Plateau because it overlooks chinese Posts in chumbi valley of china occupied tibet (cot). But for india, the strategic impor-tance of doklam Plateau lies in the fact that this high ground not only overlooks the sensitive Siliguri corridor, its occupation by china will turn the flanks of india defences in Sikkim, making them vulnerable.

Deliberate Chinese Intrusionover the years, china managed to construct a class 9 un-metalled road leading to the doklam Plateau but trouble began when chinese troops started advancing through the doklam region towards doka La. on June 20, 2017, Bhutan served a demarche to china against the chinese arbitrary action of constructing a road in the doklam Plateau, which is property of the King of Bhutan. the demarche, a formal statement, was served through the chinese embassy in delhi on June 20 since Bhutan and china do not have diplomatic relations. Major General vetsop namgyel, Ambassador of Bhutan to india, told the media, “the PLA started motorable road construction in the doklam area towards Bhutanese Army camp at Zomphlri. we are in boundary res-olution talks with china and have written agreements that pending final boundary settlement, peace and tranquility be main-tained along the boundary and both sides refrain from unilaterally altering the status on ground. Bhutan has conveyed to china that road construction is not keeping with

the agreements between two countries. we have asked china to stop road constructions and refrain from changing the status quo. doklam area is near the tri-junction is part of the boundary talks between Bhutan and china.” this belied china’s claim that by stopping PLA troops from the blatant con-struction, indian troops were violating sov-ereignty of Bhutan.

china timed this deliberate intru-sion and road construction activity in the doklam Plateau with Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US knowing full well that indian troops will be forced to react, giving excuse to china to snub india by closing the pil-grimage route to Kailash-Mansarovar via nathu La. considering the strategic impor-tance of the doklam Plateau, unarmed indian troops blocked the advance of PLA troops, witnessed world over. what china claims the tri-Junction is not the one recog-nized by india — china has mischievously shifted it southwards by couple of kms in order to expand her claims. china claims the tri-junction at Mount Gipmochi but the ridge line on himalayan terrain supports india’s claims that it lies on Batang La. in fact, tibetan history specialist claude Arpi states that “According to Sikkimese records, Gipmochi is Batang La, 5 km north of doka La.” this is what india claims. in addition, india has categorically told china that india has military agreement with Bhutan and that altering status quo is not accept-able to india. to china’s sly reference to 1962, defence Minister Arun Jaitley bluntly reminded china that today is not 1962.

china is mad that india has refused to join the china-Pakistan economic cor-ridor (cPec), which possibly was taken as granted by the communist Party of china. without india joining, the economic viabil-ity of the cPec is under cloud. But then china went ahead with its cPec project completely bypassing strategic, security and territorial sensitivities of india, espe-cially when cPec is running through PoK, which is indian territory. the indo-US rela-tionship also apparently scares china. the state-owned chinese media says that india “needs to be taught the rules”. china under deng Xiaoping invaded vietnam in 1979 “to teach vietnam a lesson” but instead

learnt a lesson themselves. Xi Jinping was then Secretary in the chinese Ministry of defence under deng Xiaoping. Again dur-ing the 1986 Sumdorong chu incident, deng Xiaoping threatened to “teach india a lesson” but eventually had to retreat. All that india needs to do is remain resolute. As far as china’s threat that india “needs to be taught the rules”, there sure is scope. india cannot stop chinese goods coming into india, but the indian public certainly has the choice to shun chinese products. the $60 billion bilateral trade imbalance in favour of china must be eliminated. Bully or rogue, china must understand she can’t keep clapping with one hand.

China’s Dilemma, Bullying and Subterfugechina’s dilemma is the fake aura of invin-cibility that the chinese communist Party has built around itself, putting china in a tight corner. to top this, having usurped total power unto him, President Xi Jinping is in tearing hurry to realize his pet project, the ‘china dream’ in order to put himself on the same pedestal as Mao Zhedong. india has suggested mutual meltdown from the standoff area, as was done during the Sum-dorong chu incident, which is the only via-ble and respectable option but so far china has not agreed. china wants india to with-draw first but india has bluntly told china this is not acceptable; withdrawal from the area has to be simultaneous.

Amid some signs of thaw at the doklam Plateau, china suddenly escalated its rhet-oric over the standoff, warning india of “serious consequences” if it did not pull back its troops. Liu Jinsong, china’s deputy chief of mission at new delhi stated, “the crossing of the boundary line by indian troops into the territory of china using the pretext of security concern for a third party (Bhutan) is illegal. the troops should be withdrawn immediately, otherwise there will be serious consequences.” ear-lier reports in indian media quoting gov-ernment sources talked of indications that the chinese could be winding down their offensive posture on the plateau where they had brought troops and heavy machinery to build a road on Bhutanese territory but

added that intent of china is unclear. Sub-sequently, speaking in Parliament, exter-nal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was firm in stating that it was china which had triggered the crisis, adding, “our con-cerns emanate from chinese action on the ground which have implications for the determination of the tri-junction bound-ary point between india, china and Bhu-tan and the alignment of the india-china boundary in the Sikkim sector.”

while china had been shouting that no meaningful dialogue is possible unless indian troops unilaterally and uncondition-ally withdraw, which india has refused, it has now issued a 15-page statement clari-fying its position. though the language is vitriolic, china perhaps wants a resolution to the dispute, even de-escalate. the docu-ment lies that india has started withdraw-ing troops from a high over 400 to about 40 (india maintains its troop strength is constant at 350). it further alleges that over 270 indian troops, carrying weapons and driving two bulldozers, crossed the bound-ary in the Sikkim sector and advanced more than 100 metre into the “chinese terri-tory” to obstruct the road building of the “chinese” side. these are again blatant lies. it was chinese who were using bulldozers. india rejected these false chinese claims, the Ministry of external Affairs statement reading, “india’s position on this issue and related facts have been articulated in our press statement of June 30. india consid-ers that peace and tranquility in the india-china border areas is an important pre-requisite for smooth development of our bilateral relations with china.”

The Futurethere are many possibilities that the future holds. the state of the chinese economy should not logically favour war and china knows very well that india is no push-over, especially with the advantage india enjoys in the indian ocean. Moreover, the world opinion over the doklam Standoff is in india’s favour, the mask of china’s “peaceful rise” torn-off already. worse, china’s instigation and support behind north Korea’s antics and chinese support to Pakistani terrorist leaders has become more than apparent. china has upped its excursions in Barahoti area of Uttrakhand, including helicopters intruding into indian territory. these again could be pressure tactics, intimidating india into withdraw-ing from the doklam standoff. Such intru-sions in other areas including Arunachal Pradesh could well be undertaken, even at larger scale, given the unpredictability of the chinese and the corner they have got themselves in. As mentioned above, the only viable solution is simultaneous withdrawal from the standoff region. this can be fol-lowed by a trilateral india-Bhutan-china discussion about the correct location of the tri-junction to sort out the deliberate con-fusion created by china. the fact remains that the tri-junction has be along the ridge-line, which is Batang La – as claimed by india. Meanwhile, india obviously should be geared up for similar deliberate intru-sions anywhere along the LAc, especially in areas illegally claimed by china. SP

Indo-ChIna rELatIons

China has resolved its borders with all its neighbours less India and Bhutan because of its expansionist aims towards the Indian Ocean

sikkim standoff — china’s dilemma?

IndIa

BhuTan

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Disputed areas between Bhutan and China

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Doklam Plateau

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The tAnK BiAthLon coM-Menced with the opening cer-emony of international Army Games at Alabino ranges, rus-sia on July 29, 2017. nineteen

nations with three crews each are compet-ing with each other in the Stage i individual races to qualify for the Stage ii which will be a relay race. top twelve teams will be selected for Stage ii relay race out of which top four teams will qualify for the final stage relay race scheduled on August 12, 2017.

Presently, one crew each of all nations has participated in the first two days of the compe-tition wherein the indian crew’s race was con-ducted on the July 30, 2017. the individual race of balance two indian crews is scheduled on August 4-6, 2017. the top twelve teams for stage ii will be selected on the basis of least aggregate time of all three crews.

the tank Biathlon competition is an international event conducted as part of the international Army Games held every year since 2013 at Alabino ranges, rus-

sia. international Army Games involve 28 events organised in five countries i.e. rus-sia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and china. the indian Army team has been participating in the competition for the past three years since 2014. the team stood 6th in the previous year out of the 17 coun-

tries which participated in the event in July 2016. this year, for the first time, the team would be participating with their own t-90 tanks which have been shipped to russia.

A total of 19 countries including china, russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, israel and South Africa will showcase their prowess,

skills and endurance on the tanks in this prestigious event this year. the competi-tion involves firing by tanks on the move by conventional machine guns and anti tank projectiles at a range of 2 km, whilst negotiating rugged obstacles. the competi-tion simulates actual battle field conditions involving driving at high speed and entails switching from one mode of operation to another at a fast pace which requires men-tal mobility and exceptional level of physi-cal fitness and training.

the team has been selected through a rigorous selection process on the basis of technical expertise, physical fitness, men-tal endurance and consistency in accuracy of firing the tank weapons while driving the tanks through a replica of the origi-nal circuit in russia, at Babina Field Firing ranges in central india. the tanks were transported to russia by sea and the team moved to russia on July 20, 2017, for par-ticipation in the competition from July 29, to August 12, 2017. SP

Lt GEnEraL V.K. Kapoor (rEtd)

In recent tiMeS AvAiLABiLity of ammunition has been a matter of great concern because the shortages take time to be replenished and the procedure for the same is quite lengthy due to limited

financial powers given to the army for pro-curements through revenue budget. this had led to a situation where the ammunition reserves of the army had dwindled alarm-ingly and even training ammunition had to be curtailed thus affecting soldiers training. Such a situation if it continues for a longer duration then a backlog is built up due to which the annual revenue budget for pro-curement of munitions is not enough to cater for the current years requirements as well as the deficiencies built up over a period of time. it implies that a short fall in one particular year has a multiplying effect in the next year and if the deficiencies persist year after year then the short fall affects the avail-ability of war wastage reserves which impact the fighting capability of the armed forces.

in india, since independence, the con-cept and availability of war wastage reserves, called wwr, has always been calculated at 30:30 i.e. thirty days intense rate and 30 days normal rate of consumption during war. however over a period of time this fig-ure was reduced to 20:20 and now as per media reports this figure has been reduced further. notwithstanding the figure (ratio), whatever it may be, every year a fair quan-tity of ammunition is also used up for train-ing of this one million strong army which includes, tank ammunition, artillery, air defence artillery and small arms ammuni-tion and various categories of missiles both ground to air and the anti tank variety. in

past the Ministry of defence has never able to meet the requirements of the army fully and the defence budget could not make up the shortfall thus a catch-22 situation devel-oped. this is the reason that considering the prevailing threats across the Line of con-trol (Loc) against Pakistan and the Line of Actual control (LAc) against china that the Government has finally woken up to its own weaknesses and extended full financial pow-ers to the vice chief of Army Staff (vcoAS) to maintain adequate stockpiles and combat readiness for “short and intense wars”.

the cease fire violations on the Loc, the terrorist challenge in the border areas, and the overall threats and challenges perceived have been instrumental in bringing about this change. After the Uri attack in Septem-ber 2016, where the army lost 20 soldiers, it was reported by the media, that the armed forces had signed emergency deals worth

over `20,000 crore — primarily with rus-sia, israel and France to ensure that the forces (warships, fighter aircraft, tanks and artillery etc) could undertake at least 10 days of “intense fighting” without worry-ing about ammunition and other reserves.

the present government had set up empowered procurement committees under the Army, navy and indian Air Force vice-chiefs with emergency revenue finan-cial powers to “make up deficiencies and operational voids” by inking deals over a three-month period at a time. As per media reports the Army, on its part, had identi-fied 22 armaments, 46 different types of ammunition, half a dozen types of mines as well as spares for 10 weapons systems rang-ing from tanks to artillery guns as “critical requirements”, which together would cost `35,000 to `40,000 crore.

the Armed Forces have already inked

19 contracts worth `12,000 crore, which includes 11 kinds of ammunition since then. out of 19 contracts, 10 contracts are with russian companies for supply of engines, anti-tank guided missiles and Smerch rockets. Some reports suggest that the armed forces are satisfied with these fast-track procedures to ensure availability and serviceability of existing weapon systems and platforms. it has been reported that the comptroller Auditor General of india had also taken a note of this alarming state of affairs in a report tabled in Parliament.

this development of extending full financial powers to the vice chief of the Army staff is a step in the right direction because it will now give the army the much needed flexibility of being able to procure the vitally needed ammunition through revenue budget without waiting for clear-ances through the normal chain of pro-curement. this will also put the onus on the army for any shortfall in any category of critically deficient ammunition for want of which our operational capability is impaired. however these financial powers alone do not solve the overall problem of a fighting force which is constantly deployed for operations. the defence budget must be adequate so as to exercise these powers. Moreover such powers of fast tracking the procurement must exist with the army for procurement of a variety of smaller weap-ons and equipment whose requirement is small in numbers such as night vision aids, electronic surveillance and sighting devices, specialist weapons such as sniper rifles and specialist vehicles for the special forces and anti material rifles whose requirement is in limited numbers. we need not wait for years together to procure them. SP

rEport

Considering the prevailing threats across the line of Control (loC) against Pakistan and the line of actual Control (laC) against China, the government has finally woken up and extended full financial powers to the Vice Chief of army Staff (VCOaS) to maintain adequate stockpiles and combat readiness for “short and intense wars”

full financial powers to Vice-chief of the army staff to maintain combat-readiness

Indian army Team with T90 Tanks participate in Tank Biathlon 2017 in russia

PhOTOgraPh: PIB

PhOTOgraPh: Indian army

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6 sp’s land forces 3/2017

VIEwpoInt

Lt GEnEraL p.C. KatoCh (rEtd)

In JAnUAry 2017, MediA reports again emerged of tri-Service commands and other measures like appointing a single-point military adviser, without elaborat-ing about the latter whether it will be a

chief of defence Staff (cdS) or a Permanent chairman of chiefs of Staff committee (PP coSc). what powers the cdS/PP coSc is to have also remains vague. if the govern-ment was serious and recognised the urgency, some measures at least would have been initi-ated in this respect to include this in the list of achievements up to May 26, 2017, – date of completion of three years rule of ndA ii. ironically, other than ‘Make in india’ defence continues to remain at low priority.

Strategic Security Formulationit is common knowledge that india does not have a cohesive national Security Strategy (nSS). in fact, this was admitted in Parliament in May 10, 1995 by the then Prime Minis-ter narasimha rao when he stated, “we do not have a document called india’s defence Policy. But we have several guidelines which are followed, strictly followed and observed…this policy is not merely rigid in the sense that it has been written down, but these are the guidelines, these are the objectives, these are the matters which are always kept in view while conducting our defence policy”. he did not amplify what these several guide-lines were that were strictly being followed and observed, but the fact is that the defence of india remained in dire neglect including pathetic equipping of the military and its operational components certainly proves that these so called guidelines and their follow up was grossly inadequate to put it mildly. yet no government has ever bothered to bridge this vital void that adversely impacts india’s national security at the strategic level. the present government’s effort towards equip-ping too is patchy and limited to some big-ticket projects only.

our greatest weakness is that the govern-ment has made no effort to reorganise the higher defence organisations, particularly Ministry of defence (Mod) which has no mili-tary professionals and institutional set up for strategy security formulation, besides the mili-tary is not part of such strategic deliberations. hQ idS has emerged as another hQ above but akin to Services hQ with little authority. the GoM had recommended integration of Service hQ into Ministry of defence (Mod) with progressive decentralisation of decision making powers and delegation of financial powers. this too has not been affected i- only renaming the Services hQ as ihQ of Mod (Army/navy/Air Force). Service hQ, though notionally integrated with the Mod, lack any executive authority. All operational and administrative authority rests with the Mod, which unnecessarily extends the decision making process.

Inadequate Military SynergyGeneral S. Padmanabhan, former chief of Army Staff had said, “there is no escaping the military logic of creating suitably constituted integrated theatre commands and Func-tional commands for the Armed Forces as a whole.”years later post the Kargil conflict, indian Army chief General v.P. Malik went on record to say. “it is not my case that the Service chiefs do not cooperate in war. were they not to do so, it would be churlish. But in war, cooperative synergies are simply not good enough.” the battlefield requires effect Based operations (eBos). eBos can best be pro-gressed through application of all the instru-ments of the nation state. what this implies is that eBo can only succeed if all components of national power are brought to bear, which in turn means that defence Forces must have full spectrum joint operations capability and an integrated approach. it is also important to understand that this synergistic application of power is to be applied at all levels of warfare, be it tactical, operational or strategic.

in the overall jointmanship paradigm of our defence forces today, it would not be wrong to say that true jointmanship exists mainly within hQ idS. the balance is at an extremely nascent stage, with complete absence at the cutting edge/tactical levels. Lack of jointness in the organisational struc-tures leads to lack of joint training, joint exer-cises and common procedures at the tactical and operational levels. we have a very long way to go considering that our so called exist-ing “patchy jointness” has to go through the stages of “de-conflicted operations” to “joint operations” and thereon achieve the desired capability of “integrated operations”.

Chief of Defence StaffAppointment of a cdS is essential as catalyst

for jointness and integration of the Services. Some sections of the polity perhaps fear that a unified military may become too strong for the constitutional establishment and may undermine its status. this factor perhaps contributes the most to the failure to appoint a cdS. Perhaps military rules/attempted coups in neighbouring Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh add to such fear. A second reason perhaps is the intransigence and apa-thy of the bureaucrats, some of whom revel over inter-Service rivalry. the fact is that the coSc is no substitute for a cdS, which is very apparent from the extracts of the GoM report given above. our political class needs to dem-onstrate strategic sense and appoint a cdS without further delay. without a cdS, the military’s capacity building for network cen-tric capabilities will continue to lag, as will the required revolution in military affairs.

Theatre Commandscreation of the Andaman & nicobar com-mand (Anc) and the Strategic Forces command (SFc) undoubtedly are signifi-cant milestones albeit the former has to look over its shoulder to the mainland for resources. hopefully, Future of the Aero-space command, cyber command and Spe-cial operations command recommended by the naresh chandra committee remains ambiguous with indications the only Mod ‘directive’ reportedly to work on smaller organizations headed by two-star level offi-cers - typical bureaucratic idiocy of delay tactics. Both Anc and SFc have proved capable of integrated operational planning. hQ Anc performed commendably during the tsunami relief operations.

the vast expanse of india requires iden-tification of geographical theatres that are of military security concern. conceptually, a theatre should include within its geographi-cal boundary the entire geographically con-tiguous territory of a competing entity or an adversary including geographically con-tiguous territories of those entities or states which, in the event of hostilities, may col-

laborate either with the adversary or with own country. it must also include adjoining seas and space above that may be essential for manoeuvre of own forces to address the threatening entity/adversary and its geo-graphically contiguous collaborator(s). For-tunately, this has already been thoroughly addressed by hQ idS through five compre-hensive studies during year 2005.

integrated theatre commands (itcs) need to be established encompassing the entire operational spectrum with two to three integrated Functional commands (iFcs) that maybe Bi-Service or tri-Service under each itc; existing 17 single Service commands need to be reorganised accordingly. Studies prove all three Services will actually ben-efit from such reorganization, also enhancing promotional avenues. re-alignment of opera-tional geographical boundaries will obviously need to be undertaken. need of the hour is that all single Service commands gradually evolve into either itcs (akin to Anc) or iFcs (akin to SFc). command and staffing of all itcs and iFcs should be tri or bi-Service.

Hackneyed BureaucracyUnder the Allocation of Business & transac-tion of Business rules Act 1961 that follow the British legacy of defence Secretary (not defence Minister) charged with defence of india and the Services headquarters con-tinue to officially remain “attached offices”, the Mod bureaucrats continue to enjoy power without responsibility and account-ability. in order to maintain this status quo, hackneyed suggestions are projected through media, like: instead of rehauling Mod completely, some “middle-level” posts being looked at in Mod to be manned by military officers; and, permanent chairman of coSc without operational powers. the bottom-line is that if we are not going in for establishing a cdS with full operational pow-ers and then establish itcs and iFcs in cohe-sive manner, it would be fruitless exercise. But that is not all, concurrent to appointing a cdS, hQ idS must be fully merged with the Mod. But then this last essential requires a rare quality of political leadership.

ConclusionJointness and integration of the military is an inevitable requirement for the modern day battle field. the biggest challenge to jointness is to bring about an attitudinal shift by turning the sense of insecurity and mutual suspicion into a sense of belongingness amongst the Services as well as the politico-bureaucratic establishment. the change will need to be implemented top down for it to take root and be effective. while there is urgent need to appoint a cdS, we should get on with initiat-ing the process of establishing itcs and iFcs in the larger interest of achieving jointness and integration. SP

The writer is former Director General of Information Systems, Indian Army.

“The functioning of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) has, to date, revealed serious weaknesses in its ability to provide single point military advice to the government, and resolve substantive inter-Service doctrinal, planning, policy and operational issues adequately. This institution needs to be appropriately revamped to discharge its responsibilities efficiently and effectively, including the facilitation of “jointness” and synergy among the Defence Services.”

—GoM Report post Kargil Crisis of 1999

Theatre commands — long overdue

our greatest weakness is that the government has made no effort to reorganise the higher defence organisations, particularly ministry of defence (mod) which has no military professionals and institutional set up for strategy security formulation, besides the military is not part of such strategic deliberations

The biggest challenge to jointness is to bring about an attitudinal shift by turning the sense of insecurity and mutual suspicion into a sense of belongingness amongst the services as well as the politico-bureaucratic establishment.

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7 3/2017 SP’s Land ForceS

Unified Commanders’ ConferenCe deliberates on tri-serviCes synergy

The two day Unified Commanders’ Confer-ence was held on July 10-11, 2017, at New Delhi. The conference, which was attended by the RM, RRM, NSA, Service Chiefs and senior dignitaries from Tri-Services Establish-ments and the Ministry of Defence discussed all relevant issues including functional and operational synergy, enhancement of train-ing curriculum in Armed Forces Training Institutes among others.

Earlier during the conference, the Defence Secretary apprised the audience that the Defence Cyber & Space Agencies and Special Operations Division will soon become a reality.

On Day Two of the Conference, one of the highlights was the presentation on ‘Big Data towards Insightful Decision Making’, by the prestigious College of Defence Man-agement. This concept has already been introduced in training curriculum of select senior military officers.

The Joint curriculum in the prestigious Defence Services Staff College, one of the oldest Tri-Services Institutions in the world, has been increased to over 60 per cent, thus paving the way for an enhanced shared per-

spective in executing joint operations.With the purpose of making the mili-

tary physical training even more scientific, a decision to incorporate sports medicine in the methodology of training cadets, recruits and combat soldiers was also taken. The audience was also informed of the decision to introduce B Tech in the National Defence Academy which will further the technological threshold of future military leaders.

In his closing remarks, Chairman COSC and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba stressed on the significance of synergised execution of operational plans and encouraged all to ensure rigorous cost benefit analysis while creating any new structures. After a fruitful discussion on several other functional Tri-Services issues, Lt General Satish Dua, the Chief of Integrated Staff, thanked the gathering for actively participating in the Joint Services deliberations.

exerCise maitree 2017 — Joint indo-thailand military exerCise

Indo-Thailand relations are multifaceted and founded on historical linkages. Both countries have a history of extensive coop-eration. Taking it forward, Armies of India and Thailand have been conducting the yearly Joint Training Exercise named Ex Maitree. This year the Exercise is being con-ducted from July 3 to 17, 2017, at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.

Approximately 50 troops from Royal

Thailand Army and an equal number of Indian soldiers from the Northern Command will participate in the exercise. The aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilat-eral Army-to-Army relations and enhance interoperability between the two armies.

The two week long exercise is scheduled to be conducted in multiple modules in order to achieve complete integration between the two contingents at every stage. As part of the exercise the two Armies will jointly plan and execute a series of well developed drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in counter terrorism environment. Conduct of Ex Maitree 2017 would go a long way in enhancing defence cooperation between the two countries.

The contingent from the Royal Thai-land Army landed at Gaggal Airport on July 2, 2017. The exercise is designated to enhance multiple evel cooperation between the two armies and improving understanding of each other’s tactical drills and actions for countering insur-gency and counter terrorism.

Maintenance of enhanced military to military contact will be mutually beneficial. Maitree series of bilateral exercises have been one of the major defence cooperation initiatives between India and Thailand.

So far, since the start of the Exercises, they have held display of unarmed com-bat, and modus operandi of establish-ing mobile check posts, to neutralize the terrorists escaping in a vehicle. After the above demonstrations, troops from both the armies rehearsed the drills jointly and shared each other’s minor tactical drills. In addition, the Royal Thailand Army troops were also familiarized with the handling of INSAS Rifle before commencing the live firing which is scheduled to be organised in the coming days of the exercise. On July 4, 2017, in the evening evening, troops from Royal Thailand Army enjoyed learning Cricket from their Indian counterparts. SP

Publisher and editor-in-chiefJayant Baranwal

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aPPoIntMentS

lLt General Abhay Krishna, has been appointed the GOC-in-C Eastern Command and has taken over from the outgoing incumbent Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi on August 1, 2017.

lLt General Cherish Mathson has taken over as GOC-in-C of South Western Command (SWC) from out-going incumbent Lt General Abhay Krishna on August 1, 2017.

News iN Brief

STRENGTHENING ITS COM-MITMENT TO invest in the communities in which it

operates, BAE Systems will sup-port 300 girls to complete second-ary school through Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Programme. BAE Systems is partnering with Room to Read, a global non-profit organiza-tion focused on improving literacy and gender equality in education with its largest region of opera-tions in India. BAE Systems’ invest-ment will provide material support, mentorship, life skills training, and family and community engagement activities with the goal of encouraging young women, in grades 8-12, to complete their secondary education.

This partnership is aligned with Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao or Save the girl child, Educate the girl child, an initiative of the Indian Government which specifically targets universal enrol-ment of girl students in schools, decreased drop-out rates, girl child-friendly standards in schools, and implementation of Right

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Sourav Banerjee, India Country Director, Room to Read, said “Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of chil-dren in low-income countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Institutional support is critical to our suc-cess. BAE Systems’ inspired action under Beti Bachao, Beti Pad-hao blends its organization’s goals with Room to Read’s objec-tives and will ensure more girls have the power of choice and are ready for the doors of opportunity that follow.” SP

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