Author: Special Correspondent
Publication: The Hindu
Date: August 11, 2009
URL: http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/11/stories/2009081160771000.htm
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh
Mehta, on Monday underscored the primacy of challenges posed by China as India
draw its national security plans to keep pace with its rise to global prominence.
"It is quite evident that coping with
China will certainly be one of our primary challenges in the years ahead.
China is in the process of 'consolidating' its comprehensive national power
and creating formidable military capabilities. Once that is done, China is
likely to be more assertive on its claims, especially in its immediate neighbourhood,"
Admiral Mehta said in his lecture "India's national security challenges
- an armed forces overview" organised by the National Maritime Foundation.
Admiral Mehta acknowledged that India's trust-deficit
with China could never be removed completely till the boundary issues are
settled and flagged that Beijing's propensity for intervention in space and
cyber-warfare would also be major planning considerations in New Delhi's strategic
and operational thinking.
He said cooperation rather than competition
or conflict with China was preferable since it would be "foolhardy"
to compare India and China as equals in terms of economy, infrastructure and
military spending.
The Navy Chief said both in convention and
non-conventional terms military terms, India neither does have the capability
nor the intention to match China force for force. According to some American
studies, China spends anywhere between $70 billion to $200 billion even though
the official figure by Beijing is under $40 billion, he said.
A military conflict, he said, would have grave
consequences on the economic front for both nations and therefore it would
be in the interest of both the countries to cooperate with each other in mutually
beneficial endeavours and ensure that the potential for conflict is minimised.
The military strategy to deal with Beijingshould
include reducing the military gap and counter the growing Chinese footprint
in the Indian Ocean region, and harness modern technology for developing high
situational awareness and creating a reliable "stand-off deterrent."
Another significant challenge, flagged by
the Navy Chief was that of cyber warfare and web espionage. He quoted a 2007
report of McAfee that warned that international espionage was set to be the
biggest single threat to national security in 2008 with some 120 countries
on web espionage bandwagon.
Overall, he painted on the broad canvas the
other aspects including the growing challenge from non-state actor and the
country's responses to it. The policy of engagement in shaping India's neighbourhood;
securing the country's long maritime border; dimensions of internal security,
need to have cohesive working of different intelligence agencies, and the
need for integration among the tri-services.
