India vs. China

[Adam Peter]

Someone said WW4 will be fought with cubs, the two nuclear powers dialed the clock a bit forward. It is said that 20 Indian and 35 Chinese soldiers died on 15.06.2020 in the Galwan Valley, most of them falling into water in the sub-zero environment.

In the first time, China officially acknowledged that 4 Chinese soldiers died there. India was very upset when images of nice WW1 style Chinese cubs began to circulate.

The Chinese PoW:

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Adam Peter
First link

[Tim the Tank Nut]

I know this was covered at length in another thread but I just keep asking:

What did India think was going to happen?  China expects India to bow.  If India chooses not to bow then they better be ready to defend their interests.

There are things worth fighting and dying for and there are worse futures than death.  India needs to give real thought about how to deal with the dragon on their doorstep.

[JasonJ]

A China-friendly Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar add quite a surround on India.

[Roman Alymov]

Nothing new is new

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

On 2/20/2021 at 6:48 PM, Tim the Tank Nut said:

I know this was covered at length in another thread but I just keep asking:

What did India think was going to happen?  China expects India to bow.  If India chooses not to bow then they better be ready to defend their interests.

There are things worth fighting and dying for and there are worse futures than death.  India needs to give real thought about how to deal with the dragon on their doorstep.

The problem is not that India is incapable of defending themselves, they have a million man army and nuclear weapons. They have a fairly good armed forces actually.

The problem is that China refused to be deterred, which is a lesson everyone who pats themselves in the back and think they are ready need to learn.

It's time to make allies, because this is what happens when you go it alone.

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 29.07.2021

Author Dharvi Vaid (New Delhi)

India seeks to reform its military amid new security threats

Experts say India has "a lot of catching up to do" in the domain of technological advancement, such as artificial intelligence. The country faces security challenges from multiple fronts, including China and Pakistan.

The top brass of the Indian military met last week to discuss massive reforms, which are aimed at integrating the capabilities of the army, the navy and the air force.

In a plan backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, the current 17 single-service units will come under five "theater commands" in a bid to establish a unified approach to deal with future conflicts.

However, reports of discord between the service' chiefs emerged as they squabbled over the structure and ambit of the unified commands.

Earlier this month, Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat and head of the air force, Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, reportedly exchanged harsh words over the proposed reforms.

On July 2, Rawat, who is tasked with creating "theater commands" said that the Indian air force remains a "supporting arm" of the armed forces. There are reports that the air force does not agree to the unified command reform.

Reforms are 'long overdue'

The timing of the proposed reform is crucial, as the Indian military faces challenges from multiple fronts, including border tensions with China and Pakistan.

"Reforms are long overdue. The Indian military is operating under old structures and old ideas that won't be effective should a new conflict emerge," Arzan Tarapore, a South Asia research scholar at Stanford University, told DW.

Amit Cowshish, a former financial advisor to the Ministry of Defense, said security threats to India are continuously morphing into new forms.

"The boundary dispute with China has acquired a new dimension as was seen in Ladakh last year. China is also increasing its forays into the Indian Ocean and has been making overtures to India's neighbors," Cowshish told DW.

Threats from advancing technology

The Indian military also faces challenges from growing advancements in technology, says Vivek Chadha, a retired colonel and a research fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses. According to Chadha, drones are now considered low-cost options.

"Similarly, the kind of investment one needs to do to carry out a cyberattack is minuscule as compared to conventional weapons systems," he added.

Tarapore said "drones are just the tip of the iceberg."

"Far more salient and long-lasting threats in decades to come are going to be the huge advancements in information technology, as it relates to war. Everything that can be affected by, improved by artificial intelligence and machine learning," Tarapore told DW.

India's role in regional security

In the years to come, the Indian military could also be called to assume a variety of new missions in South Asia.

"India acting as a net security provider in the region, basically non-combat roles for the military, including humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and maintaining conventional deterrence across the region," Tarapore said.

He added that although India already undertakes similar functions, there is going to be an increasing demand from the region and from partners like the US and Australia to carry out more such missions.

India could also be expected to play a key role in counter-coercion.

"India has previously designed its military to defend its land increasingly for a variety of reasons. That is going to recede in frequency as a threat and what's going to increase in frequency is the risk of coercion both against India and against third parties in the region," Tarapore said.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/india-seeks-to-reform-its-military-amid-new-security-threats/a-58687337