NEW DELHI: Warning that China is becoming very aggressive, and would soon step into Afghanistan after friendly overtures to Iran and Turkey, General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said India needs an integrated national security architecture to deal with two hostile neighbours, non-contact technological warfare and internal security challenges.
Taking recourse to Samuel Huntington’s seminal thesis ‘Clash of Civilizations’ during a talk at the India International Centre, the chief of defence staff said it mentions that the Confucian or `Sinic’ civilization would actually join hands with the Islamic civilization to counter the western one.
“Whether that is going to happen or not, only time will tell. But we are seeing some kind of `jointmanship’ between the Sinic and Islamic civilizations. You can see China is now making friends with Iran, moving towards Turkey and stepping into Afghanistan. They (China) will step into Afghanistan in the time to come very shortly,” Gen Rawat said.
Noting that the rise of China had happened faster than what the world has envisaged, India will have to wait-and-watch how events unfold in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. “We don’t know what is in the future. There can be more turmoil in Afghanistan and changes that can’t be anticipated as of now,” he added.
Turning to Pakistan, the CDS said the western adversary will continue to fuel and expand its proxy war against India. “Today, we find it happening in J&K. They (Pakistan) are attempting it in Punjab once again, and are also trying to spread their wings in other parts of the country,” he said.
“A weaker adversary like Pakistan will always keep us engaged through a proxy war. They are, in fact, a proxy of our northern adversary (China). China has shown aggression in the South China Sea with the nations in that area. Whether it happens in the form of direct aggression or use of technology along our land borders, we have to be prepared,” he added.
India is adopting “a whole of government approach” to deal with all security issues. The country is looking to raise a new `rocket force’ for different kinds of missiles, ensure more `jointness’ between the armed forces and the central armed police forces, and create dual-use infrastructure and logistics through civil-military fusion, he said.
Efforts are already underway to build an integrated war-fighting machinery through the creation of unified theatre commands, strengthening capabilities in the domains of space, cyberspace and special operations.
With China becoming “more and more aggressive”, India also has to consider technology as a very important facet of war-fighting because an adversary will try to disrupt our strategic networks as well as energy, banking, transport and communication grids. “Future wars may not necessarily be fought like past wars, which were battles of attrition,” said Gen Rawat.
Overall, India needs to start looking at “transforming” the national security architecture, which will require some kind of integration and jointness among all security forces as well as civilian organizations, he added.
