The Indian defence establishment has been talking about a
grown assertiveness in its dealing with its giant neighbor in the East – China.
Two separate developments earlier this month marked a sense of maturity in the
defence outlook of India – the Special Representatives talks on the boundary
issue with China and the largest edition of Milan naval exercise with 16
countries from the Indian Ocean Region and South China Sea.
On the face of it the two events look unrelated, but Indian Mandarins in the South Block seem to have taken a leaf out from the Chinese strategy of seeking a peaceful resolution of disputes while continuing to assert its might. India conducted war games with 16 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand – which are having disputes with China in the South China Sea region - in the Bay of Bengal from Feb 4-9. And then Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) met China’s State Councillor Yang Jiechi to decide to start dialogue on maritime security, an important aspect of Indo-China relations considering their rivalry vis-à-vis energy security.
On the face of it the two events look unrelated, but Indian Mandarins in the South Block seem to have taken a leaf out from the Chinese strategy of seeking a peaceful resolution of disputes while continuing to assert its might. India conducted war games with 16 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand – which are having disputes with China in the South China Sea region - in the Bay of Bengal from Feb 4-9. And then Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) met China’s State Councillor Yang Jiechi to decide to start dialogue on maritime security, an important aspect of Indo-China relations considering their rivalry vis-à-vis energy security.
File Photo of Exercise Milan
The only difference between the strategic maneuvering of the
two countries is that China can actually back them up with firepower. India
seems to be aiming virtually with no gun. The gap between the requirements of
the Indian Armed Forces and the grant from the government is ever widening – as
reflected in the recent budget. On the face of it, the defence budget has got a
10 percent hike. But probe a bit deeper, and it reflects an Indian defence
establishment, known to have inertia to change; acquisition process takes
decades, any force augmentations come after years, domination of reactive
rather proactive approach towards bulwarking its defence and so forth and so
on.
The announced Defence Budget for the year 2014-15 is 2.24 trillion rupees. The major reason for the enhanced budget is the increased pay and salaries of the three forces and the hiked revenue expenditure of the Indian Army, which is raising a Mountain Strike Corps along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along China. However, the other requirements like getting new artillery guns have been hanging fire. And also the IAF had to bear a cut in relation to the current year.
Indian Defence Minister AK Antony dropped the bombshell at the flagship biennial Indian defence exhibition DefExpo-2014, that there was no money for the purchase of the 126 Medium Multi-Role Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) – an acquisition that has the force has been awaiting for nearly a decade now and the delay has been keeping it from bidding adieu to all variants of the MiG-21s.
The announced Defence Budget for the year 2014-15 is 2.24 trillion rupees. The major reason for the enhanced budget is the increased pay and salaries of the three forces and the hiked revenue expenditure of the Indian Army, which is raising a Mountain Strike Corps along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along China. However, the other requirements like getting new artillery guns have been hanging fire. And also the IAF had to bear a cut in relation to the current year.
Indian Defence Minister AK Antony dropped the bombshell at the flagship biennial Indian defence exhibition DefExpo-2014, that there was no money for the purchase of the 126 Medium Multi-Role Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) – an acquisition that has the force has been awaiting for nearly a decade now and the delay has been keeping it from bidding adieu to all variants of the MiG-21s.
India has been trying to hide behind the comforts of its
‘superior’ navy with a greater experience of projecting force beyond its
border. The Indian Navy officials have been boasting about the successful
operation of a flat-deck carrier for decades. A claim which has been bolstered
by the recent addition of Admiral Gorshkov, rechristened as INS Vikramaditya,
in its fleet. The Chinese Navy that recently acquired Soviet-vintage aircraft
carrier Varyag is already working towards acquiring second such warship. India
presently has two aircraft carriers – one of which will be retiring soon and will
be replaced by an indigenous one. And the Indian defence establishment instead
of taking honing this indigenous capability further and sanctioning the
construction of the second aircraft carrier is bidding time.
Another crunch staring the Indian Navy in face is the
rapidly dwindling numbers of its submarines. The force has been left with only
14 conventional submarines in its flotilla and it is only after considerable
delay that the government has decided to give its nod to the construction of
six submarines under Project-75 I.
Another major project in limbo has been the construction of six strategic rail links along the LAC. The Indian Army had initially proposed construction of 14 strategic lines in Ladakh and North Eastern Regions. Out of this six lines were accorded top priority by the MoD. These lines will entail an estimated cost of Rs. 80,000 crore.
Another major project in limbo has been the construction of six strategic rail links along the LAC. The Indian Army had initially proposed construction of 14 strategic lines in Ladakh and North Eastern Regions. Out of this six lines were accorded top priority by the MoD. These lines will entail an estimated cost of Rs. 80,000 crore.
The rail lines are as such important to link the two regions
with the country, however, the inaction on the part of the Indian government
becomes more glaring as China has already laid down 10,000 km long rail network
in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). This has given China the People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) the capability to mobilize 4,50,000 soldiers to the border in 30
days. Some of the important railway projects in North East are Missamari
(Assam) to Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), North Lakhimpur (Assam) to Along
(Arunachal Pradesh) and Murkongselek (Assam)-Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh).
Tawang is strategically important to India and is one region in the North east
claimed by the Chinese. Inclement weather in the region makes it difficult to
maintain supply routes.
While the Defence Minister has received a pat on his back for managing to spend every penny of the defence budget during his tenure, the last year 2013-14 has been very lackluster on his resume.
While the Defence Minister has received a pat on his back for managing to spend every penny of the defence budget during his tenure, the last year 2013-14 has been very lackluster on his resume.
As usual informative, Ritu.
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