Need to pro-actively build credible deterrence: Vice Army Chief

Legacy challenges of unsettled and disputed borders have become more complex in the face of changing character of future wars, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Manoj Pande said on Friday. In an address at a military think-tank, he also pitched for pro-actively building a credible deterrence to defeat strategic objectives of India’s adversaries as well as to stop any military escalation.

“Legacy challenges of our unsettled and disputed borders have become more complex in the face of changing character of future wars,” Lt Gen Pande said.

“New tools of aggression, riding on disruptive technologies, and hostile actions that exploit the ambiguous grey zone of traditional war and peace, have transformed the battle-space,” he said.

Lt Gen Pande also said that the key to preparing a nation to deal with uncertain security challenges is to empower the strategic and operational military leadership so that the armed forces are able to adapt to changes, quickly enough, to win future conflicts.

“The new generation warfare can be won by leaders who are creative, adaptive to technology and have developed decision-making skills with profound professional knowledge,” he said.

The seminar was organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).

Lt Gen Pande said that to build capabilities and capacities to fight in a multi-dimensional war, the Indian Army is actively involved in modernising keeping the future of conflicts in mind.

“At present, the Indian Army is building a credible and balanced force posture, to deter escalation towards an armed conflict,” he said.

The Vice Chief of Army Staff said that the rapidly expanding domains of cyber, space and informatics necessitated a new approach to warfare.

He said the concept of multi-domain operations as a structured attempt to find answers to these new levers of competition and combat is finding traction amongst modern militaries the world over.

“To succeed in war, we will have to be pro-active in building a credible deterrence, thereby, defeating the adversary’s efforts to achieve its strategic goals and deterring military escalation. We are cognisant of these requirements,” he said.