Winter 2008 Vol. 2 No.2 Changing Global Security Environment with Specific Reference to our Region and its Impact on the Indian Army Deepak Kapoor RMA: A Selective Monographic Overview S.G. Inamdar Armed Forces: A Career Choice? H. Dharmarajan The Train to Lhasa S. Arya PERISCOPE Indo-African Military Cooperation Arvind Dutta Contents Perspectives 1 nChanging Global Security Environment with Specific Reference to our Region and its Impact on the Indian Army Deepak Kapoor The armed forces, being an important constituent of India's Comprehensive National Power, need to keep pace with the emerging trends and challenges and work in concert with other elements of National Power. Debates 19 nIntegrating the Indian Military: Retrospect and Prospect Vinod Anand While considerable momentum was imparted to implement the defence reforms in early days due to the shock effect of Kargil, lately this shock seems to have worn off. The reforms are being neglected and there seems to be a lack of will in implementing them. 41 nBudgeting for Desired Defence Capability A. K. Ghosh Budgeting as a means for obtaining optimum defence capability would call for reform in the defence budgeting process in some important aspects. There should be an explicit link between aims of policy and military forces required to achieve the aims. Programmes should be considered as providing that link. 58 nThe Tribal Dimension of Internal Security in South Asia G. D. Bakshi The tribal insurrections in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh must be seen on as part of a larger subcontinental phenomena arising from the civilisational clash between the newly industrializing societies in these countries with the archaic and hither to marginalized tribal cultures in South Asia. 75 nRole of Intuition in Military Command S. K.Saini Intuitive skills could provide a commander with rapid insight into problems, speeding up his decision making and better equipping him to handle the pace of modern operations. It is imperative that efforts should continue to understand intuition better in order to provide an institutionalized framework for its use in the conduct of military operations. 89 nArmed Forces: A Career Choice? H. Dharmarajan Every small effort towards strengthening the core competence and enhancing the true status of the military in the society will impact on the watchful and discerning youth. There is a vision of a professionally sound, intrinsically happy and upwardly mobile force, much sought after by the large sections of the aspiring youth as a premier career option. 105 nThe Train to Lhasa Shailender Arya The Golmud–Tibet railway is a reality, all set to visibly alter the logistics, economics and military dynamics of the region. It is also a prelude to the massive military buildup in the central and western parts of China by asset relocation and military readjustments. In the coming years, whether this development will be greeted mule-tracks or by another train from New Delhi shall be the fulcrum of our future relationship with China. 125 nRMA and India's Military Transformation V. K. Kapoor Change and transformation in Indian armed forces will require fundamental attitudinal change on the part of the military to accept and absorb the changes and to educate the political leadership so that they become stakeholders along with the military in the transformation process. 146 nRMA: A Selective Monographic Overview S. G. Inamdar An RMA is recognized and nurtured typically by those armed forces that tolerate and, at the right time, empower the visionaries in their rank-and-file to do the needful. For that to occur in India, some ground work is in order to create the necessary pre-conditions. Book Review 166 nGurmeet Kanwal, Indian Army: Vision 2020 Ali Ahmed Periscope 170 nIndo-African Defence Cooperation: Need for Enhanced Thrust Arvind Dutta Perspectives Changing Global Security Environment with Specific Reference to our Region and its Impact on the Indian Army Deepak Kapoor* INTRODUCTION It is indeed a great pleasure for me to address such an August gathering of security experts and to share thoughts and perception on the 'Changing Global Security Environment with Specific Reference to Our Region and its Impact on the Indian Army'. Let me begin by flagging the changing geo strategic environment. The gradual but distinctly discernible shift towards multi-polarity in power equations and the shift in global Centre of Gravity to Asia are the most distinct features of this change. Past experience shows that major shifts in power equations create volatility in the international order, even though the period of instability may be relatively short-lived. Interestingly, much of the qualitative re-arrangement of power now underway is not attributed to military capabilities or 'hard power', but to a factor unique to the modern world: rapid economic growth and the related quest for growing energy security. The power shifts towards Asia can be linked to its phenomenal economic rise. The rise of China, as also India, in the global economic arena is the most visible manifestation of the forces of globalisation, which are also resulting in a number of related socio- economic and security challenges within the region. On the other side, it is *General Deepak Kapoor is the Chief of the Army Staff. This is the text of his lecture delivered as a part of IDSA National Security Lectures series at the IDSA on July 3, 2008. 1 Deepak Kapoor also a fact that the fountainhead of global and regional terrorism also lies in this region. How does all this impact India? While developments in the field of economy, information technology and overall consolidation of our comprehensive national power have put India on the growth path, our internal security environment is yet to stabilise and is often exploited by external inimical forces, through asymmetrical means. However, these challenges and contradictions notwithstanding, India's inherent strengths and credentials make it an important pillar of stability in the emerging world order. The Armed Forces, being an important constituent of India's Comprehensive National Power, need to keep pace with the emerging trends and challenges and work in concert with other elements of national power to ensure India's rightful place in the emerging regional and global arena. I shall be covering my talk under the following broad heads: - (a) Global and Regional Security Environment. (b) Impact on the Indian Army. (c) Future Perspectives and Challenges. Part I - Global and Regional Security Environment Drivers Shaping the Global Security Environment Let us take a look at the major trends emerging in the global and regional security environment: - (a) Globalisation. The spiralling inflationary trends, soaring oil prices, fear of food shortages and upheavals in the financial markets driven by global cues, reinforce the fact that no Nation 2 Journal of Defence Studies • Vol. 2 No. 2 Changing Global Security Environment with Specific Reference to our Region and its Impact on the Indian Army today can remain insulated from events related to economic and security trends - in any corner of the globe. The intertwining of economies, as a consequence of globalisation, has resulted in geo- economics supplanting geo-politics. It would be debatable, however, to believe that greater economic interdependence alone would lead to improved geo-political stability. While the benefits of increased global connectivity and technological advances are enormous, its negativities in terms of increasing social and economic disparities, which can be exploited by inimical elements, need to be taken note of. There is also a fear that the ill effects of globalisation could reinforce tendencies towards competitive 'Protectionism' and regionalism. (b) International Terrorism. The rise of international terrorism indeed shows that the information age is both an integrating and a dividing force. Terrorism remains the principal challenge to liberal and democratic societies and now occupies centre stage in the international security matrix. The scourge of terrorism will continue to invite the focus of global attention in the foreseeable future, which will require earnest international cooperation to deal with it effectively. (c) Proliferation of WMD. The efforts of various renegade state and non-state actors to gain access to WMD have highlighted the dangers of proliferation of WMD material and their delivery means, especially if it reaches the hands of terrorists. India remains as concerned on this count as the other global powers. (d) Energy Security. The quest for control of energy resources of West Asia and search for alternate routes for trans-shipment of oil Journal of Defence Studies • Winter 2008 3 Deepak Kapoor and gas from the Caspian Region has brought the West and Central Asian Regions under sharp focus, thereby enhancing the chances of competition and potential conflict. It is no coincidence that most of the ongoing conflicts are centered in and around the regions that are rich in energy resources. (e) Undermining of the UN. In the recent past, we have also witnessed increased undermining of the UN in providing the lead role for resolution of conflicts and stabilisation. There is an urgent need to re-structure the UN for it to remain relevant to the emerging realities. The reality is that the five unelected yet permanent members of the Security Council need to share executive authority with new and emerging powers; India being amongst the most prominent. (f) Radicalisation in the Islamic World . Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined with lack of progress in resolving the Palestinian problem are causing an increasing cross-current of disaffection resulting in radicalisation within the Islamic world and isolation of moderate forces. Relatively, a large yet benign Muslim population has added to India's strengths. (g) Changing Nature of Conflicts. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan appear to be at critical crossroads and their outcomes will have a major bearing on future security contours of our region, in particular and the world, in general.