09-03-2005, 09:32 AM
Haphazard ceasefire line in 1947 led to
Kashmir problem: Naval chief
NEW DELHI, Sept 1: Advocating robust deterrence against any threats of first use of nuclear weapons in the neighbourhood, Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash said India's second strike capability should be "well protected" and "overwhelmingly devastating".
"Nuclear deterrence lies in the mind of the adversary. To deter someone, you must be able to convince him that the consequences of using a nuclear weapon will be so horrible and devastating, that he should never contemplate it", the Naval Chief said, pointing out that India was faced with a nuclear opponent who has in the past threatened first use.
Along with a robust nuclear deterrence, Prakash, who was addressing a seminar organised to mark the 40th anniversary of Institute of Defence Studies and Anaylses(IDSA), said if India aspired to don the mantle of even a regional power it needed to set up a Rapid Deployment Force and boost its sealift and airlift capability to have sustainable trans-national capability.
"We have to shed our diffidence and find not just the ways and means, but the will to project our power overseas," he said.
The Naval Chief said the India's power projection was a must also in the context of galloping oil prices, which could trigger a major crises for the country, as New Delhi currently was the world's sixth largest energy consumer and by 2010 it would be fourth largest.
With great foresight, the country's planners are pursuing oil projects in the Middle East, Africa, Central and South East Asia, which would make it imperative on the country's armed forces to safeguard these.
"A rapid Deployment force with trans-national capabilities would be ideal for such a purpose", Prakash who is also the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee said.
Elaborating on the Nuclear deterrence, the Naval Chief lamented that in the years following Independence, country had moved from idealism to a quest for a western nuclear umbrella and it was only through Pokhran II that the country had come to a clear defining moment.
And for the first time, for a Service Chief, Admiral Prakash said in 1947-48 operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the country's nascent political and military leadership had given no strategic direction leading to a haphazard cease-fire line being drawn, which he claimed had led to the creation of the so called "Kashmir problem."
"This problem has festered and bled the country for six decades and currently appears to have become an open-ended issue", he said.
Describing the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict as a "military defeat and humilation" for the country, the Naval Chief said although the finest hour of the country's armed forces came in 1971, the nation had faltered in the end game as there had been no "war termination strategy".
He said though 1980 saw major weapons platform acquisition by the country, there was little change in strategic thinking which had led to India's military might seen as threat by countries like China, Australia and others in South East Asia.
Currently, he said the phenomenon of terrorism both within the country and around it posed the greatest security challenge to the armed forces and combating it would take "much of our time and resources in the days ahead."
He also pointed out that island nations of the Indian Ocean like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius Seychelles and Comoros were vital to India and it was in New Delhi's interest to ensure that these nations were not threatened or sought to be destablised.
"These countries are generally in need of military hardware, training or technical assistance and sometimes need help in policing their waters" Prakash said adding that with the view of building up cooperation with them, a new Directorate of Foreign Cooperation had been culled in the Naval Headquarters under a two star Admiral.
Summing up his lecture on the theme of "Security and Foreign policy perspectives for a resurgent India", the Navy Chief said for this purpose the country would have to build its armed forces into a lean, technology intensive, networked and a joint entity force. (PTI)
Kashmir problem: Naval chief
NEW DELHI, Sept 1: Advocating robust deterrence against any threats of first use of nuclear weapons in the neighbourhood, Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash said India's second strike capability should be "well protected" and "overwhelmingly devastating".
"Nuclear deterrence lies in the mind of the adversary. To deter someone, you must be able to convince him that the consequences of using a nuclear weapon will be so horrible and devastating, that he should never contemplate it", the Naval Chief said, pointing out that India was faced with a nuclear opponent who has in the past threatened first use.
Along with a robust nuclear deterrence, Prakash, who was addressing a seminar organised to mark the 40th anniversary of Institute of Defence Studies and Anaylses(IDSA), said if India aspired to don the mantle of even a regional power it needed to set up a Rapid Deployment Force and boost its sealift and airlift capability to have sustainable trans-national capability.
"We have to shed our diffidence and find not just the ways and means, but the will to project our power overseas," he said.
The Naval Chief said the India's power projection was a must also in the context of galloping oil prices, which could trigger a major crises for the country, as New Delhi currently was the world's sixth largest energy consumer and by 2010 it would be fourth largest.
With great foresight, the country's planners are pursuing oil projects in the Middle East, Africa, Central and South East Asia, which would make it imperative on the country's armed forces to safeguard these.
"A rapid Deployment force with trans-national capabilities would be ideal for such a purpose", Prakash who is also the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee said.
Elaborating on the Nuclear deterrence, the Naval Chief lamented that in the years following Independence, country had moved from idealism to a quest for a western nuclear umbrella and it was only through Pokhran II that the country had come to a clear defining moment.
And for the first time, for a Service Chief, Admiral Prakash said in 1947-48 operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the country's nascent political and military leadership had given no strategic direction leading to a haphazard cease-fire line being drawn, which he claimed had led to the creation of the so called "Kashmir problem."
"This problem has festered and bled the country for six decades and currently appears to have become an open-ended issue", he said.
Describing the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict as a "military defeat and humilation" for the country, the Naval Chief said although the finest hour of the country's armed forces came in 1971, the nation had faltered in the end game as there had been no "war termination strategy".
He said though 1980 saw major weapons platform acquisition by the country, there was little change in strategic thinking which had led to India's military might seen as threat by countries like China, Australia and others in South East Asia.
Currently, he said the phenomenon of terrorism both within the country and around it posed the greatest security challenge to the armed forces and combating it would take "much of our time and resources in the days ahead."
He also pointed out that island nations of the Indian Ocean like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius Seychelles and Comoros were vital to India and it was in New Delhi's interest to ensure that these nations were not threatened or sought to be destablised.
"These countries are generally in need of military hardware, training or technical assistance and sometimes need help in policing their waters" Prakash said adding that with the view of building up cooperation with them, a new Directorate of Foreign Cooperation had been culled in the Naval Headquarters under a two star Admiral.
Summing up his lecture on the theme of "Security and Foreign policy perspectives for a resurgent India", the Navy Chief said for this purpose the country would have to build its armed forces into a lean, technology intensive, networked and a joint entity force. (PTI)