China Worried About Indian Military Reforms
By
Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Veteran
China is quite worried about the undergoing Indian Military Reforms. Now it knows that the time to give freedom to the people of forcibly occupied Tibet is drawing nearer. Tibet has been an independent buffer Country between the two giant neighbours since last seven thousand years of recorded history. For peace and tranquility this status of Tibet must be restored forthwith. After all Mount Kailash is the abode of Shiva on this planet.
According to well publicized reports, India is about to overhaul its military.
This overhaul will actually be a continuation of the Integration process started with the raising of HQ Integrated Defence Staff. Through these reforms, India will be integrating its three defence forces into a fully cohesive and integrated fighting machine. The Defence Forces are also being integrated with the Ministry of Defence to emulate the top militaries in the world, the US and Russia, to create a modern force that matches its national status and Super Power Status. Whereas in the Chinese System, the Defence Ministry is just a show piece with no Control over the PLA.
A more unified Indian military would make it easier to take up its true role not only within the Indian Ocean Region but also the Indo Pacific and around Africa. India will also be in a position to help out its allies and friends if a conflict is imposed In the region by any rouge nation.
China has been behaving in an unfriendly manner in the Seas off Chinese Southern Coast and for this the AUKUS partnership has been announced last week by the US, Australia and UK. It involves interoperability in a range of defense areas. In fact AUKUS will also be looking up to the India for full cooperation in ensuring peace in the Indo Pacific.
Even though the US and India in the Indo-Pacific are wary of China to different degrees, their aim of ensuring peace and freedom of navigation in the area is the same. So, it is expected that these two countries will further strengthen their military interoperability, particularly in dealing with the any piracy or maritime threat that a rouge nation may pose.
India is not pushing the reforms in a haste but in an organized manner. It is also strengthening its military ties with both USA, Russia and also with France and Israel. Some of the major Indian current weapons systems are mainly from Russia, France and Israel and also from USA. However progressively things are getting indigenized and by next decade India should be fully self sufficient in all aspects.
India will always maintain its own independent foreign policy and will always be a equal partner in any grouping. It will never become a junior partner in any the US or Russian led alliance or partnership. India as a major power and a Super Power in the making can surely be not controlled by others.
The close ties between India and most of the major nations of the World is not to the liking of China and its lackey Pakistan. In fact now Pakistan is taken just as an irritant. Countries like Pakistan may try any arm race with India but they will simply go bankrupt. In case they initiate any military conflict to counter India, then they are likely to be erased from the World Map.
India’s military reform will create around five HQ theatres : one in the West focused on Pakistan, another in the North facing both POK, Occupied Tibet and China, one in the East facing Occupied Tibet and probably one or two maritime Theatres for the Indian Ocean region.
The establishment of the first three HQ Theatres is for the Defence of India from any threats by Beijing and any pinpricks by Islamabad. In particular, India’s plan to establish an eastern theater command is in light of the ongoing preposterous claim of China over Arunachal Pradesh. The creation of Maritime Theatres is designed to exert greater influence in the Indian Ocean and the Indo Pacific.
The military reform will inevitably involve changing the Higher Defence Organization too at the National Defence Council level, Ministry of Defence level and the Cabinet Committee Security level where the need is there to make the Chief of Defence Staff a Permanent non Voting member.
There is going to be no mobilization of Indian troops due to the reorganization or during it. In fact the PLA should not start jumping around even if there are few readjustments.
The Indian Armed Forces are going ahead with the reforms with full support of the elected Government. Though there may be some inevitable bureaucratic hurdles but it cannot stand in the way of the determination of both the Political and Military leadership.
There is no doubt that a reform of any military power is a great improvement. India’s reform process has only just started and it has already started causing trepidation in the ranks of the Chinese Central Military Commission and the PLA leadership. The articles coming out in Chinese media are clear indicative of the above.
